BERKELEY 

LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OF 
CALIFORNIA 


bp  JHarp  Johnston. 


PRISONERS  OF  HOPE.  With  Frontispiece. 
Crown  8vo,  $1.50. 

TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD.  With  8  Illustra 
tions  by  HOWARD  PYLE,  E.  B.  THOMPSON, 
A.  W.  BETTS,  and  EMLEN  MCCONNELL. 
Crown  8vo,  $1.50. 

HOUGHTON    MIFFLIN  &  CO. 
BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORK. 


WHY  DON'T  YOU  END  IT  ? "  (page  209) 


TO  HAVE  AND 
TO  HOLD 


BY 

MARY  JOHNSTON 

AUTHOR   OF    "  PRISONERS   OF   HOPE  " 


With  Illustrations  by  Howard  Pyle,  E.  B.  Thompson, 
A.  W.  Betts,  and  Emlen  McConnell 


BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORK 

HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN  AND  COMPANY 


1900 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.    IN   WHICH  I   THROW   AMBS-ACE       ....  1 

II.    IN   WHICH   I   MEET   MASTER   JEREMY   SPARROW  9 

III.  IN   WHICH  I   MARRY  IN   HASTE    ....  18 

IV.  IN    WHICH   I   AM   LIKE    TO   REPENT    AT   LEISURE    .  27 

V.  IN  WHICH  A  WOMAN  HAS  HER  WAY       .        .  39 

VI.    IN   WHICH   WE    GO   TO   JAMESTOWN           ...  47 

VII.     IN  WHICH  WE  PREPARE  TO  FIGHT  THE  SPANIARD  57 

VIII.     IN   WHICH    ENTERS    MY    LORD    CARNAL         .            .  67 

IX.  IN  WHICH  Two  DRINK  OF  ONE  CUP  ...  78 
X.  IN  WHICH  MASTER  PORY  GAINS  TIME  TO  SOME 

PURPOSE 92 

XI.    IN   WHICH   I   MEET   AN   ITALIAN   DOCTOR         .            .  100 
XII.    IN   WHICH   I   RECEIVE   A  WARNING    AND    REPOSE 

A  TRUST Ill 

XIII.  IN  WHICH  THE  SANTA   TERESA  DROPS    DOWN 

STREAM        118 

XIV.  IN    WHICH    WE    SEEK    A   LOST    LADY  .            .            .  126 
XV.    IN    WHICH   WE   FIND   THE    HAUNTED   WOOD               .  133 

XVI.    IN    WHICH   I   AM  RID  OF  AN   UNPROFITABLE   SER 
VANT             .            .           .  142 

XVII.  IN  WHICH  MY  LORD  AND  I  PLAY  AT  BOWLS      .  152 

XVIII.     IN    WHICH   WE    GO    OUT    INTO    THE    NlGHT              .  164 

XIX.    IN   WHICH  WE   HAVE   UNEXPECTED   COMPANY        .  174 

XX.    IN   WHICH    WE    ARE    IN    DESPERATE    CASE             .  183 

XXI.  IN  WHICH  A  GRAVE  is  DIGGED     ....  193 

XXII.    IN   WHICH   I   CHANGE  MY  NAME  AND  OCCUPATION  202 

XXIII.  IN   WHICH   WE   WRITE   UPON   THE   SAND      .           .  213 

XXIV.  IN     WHICH     WE     CHOOSE     THE     LESSER     OF     TWO 

EVILS 224 

XXV.  IN  WHICH  MY  LORD  HATH  HIS  DAY         .        .  234 

XXVI.    IN   WHICH  I   AM    BROUGHT   TO    TRIAL    .           .           .  244 

XXVII.    IN   WHICH   I  FIND   AN    ADVOCATE         .           .            .  252 

XXVIII.  IN  WHICH  THE  SPRINGTIME  is  AT  HAND    .        .  264 

XXIX.  IN  WHICH  I  KEEP  TRYST  .....  275 


vi 


CONTENTS 


XXX.     IN    WHICH   WE   START   UPON   A  JOURNEY         .           .  289 

XXXI.   IN  WHICH  NANTAUQUAS  COMES  TO  OUR  RESCUE  299 

XXXII.     IN    WHICH  WE   ARE  THE   GUESTS  OF  AN  EMPEROR  313 

XXXIII.  IN  WHICH  MY  FRIEND  BECOMES  MY  FOE         .  326 

XXXIV.  IN  WHICH  THE  RACE  is  NOT  TO  THE  SWIFT      .  338 

XXXV.    IN   WHICH   I   COME   TO   THE   GOVERNOR'S   HOUSE  347 

XXXVI.  IN  WHICH  I  HEAR  ILL  NEWS    ....  358 

XXXVII.   IN  WHICH  MY  LORD  AND  I  PART  COMPANY        .  369 

XXXVIII.   IN  WHICH  I  GO  UPON  A  QUEST         ...  378 

XXXIX.     IN   WHICH   WE   LISTEN   TO   A   SONG  .  .  .388 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

"WHY  DON'T  YOU  END  IT?"  (page  209)  .      Frontispiece 

HE    LAY    WHERE   HE    FELL,    DAZED    BY    THE    BLOW     ...  22 

"  COME  AWAY  !"  I  SAID 82 

"  OF   A   QUITE    SINISTER    BEAUTY,    MY   LORD "     .            .            .           .  146 

MAST   AND   ALL   WENT   OVERBOARD           .....  184 

FOR   SOME   TIME    WE    SAID   NO    WORD 220 

"  SlT   DOWN,   MY   LORD  " 250 

"THOU  ART   HER   MURDERER!" 374 


TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 


CHAPTER    I 

IN   WHICH   I   THROW   AMBS-ACE 

THE  work  of  the  day  being  over,  I  sat  down  upon 
my  doorstep,  pipe  in  hand,  to  rest  awhile  in  the  cool 
of  the  evening.  Death  is  not  more  still  than  is  this 
Virginian  land  in  the  hour  when  the  sun  has  sunk 
away,  and  it  is  black  beneath  the  trees,  and  the  stars 
brighten  slowly  and  softly,  one  by  one.  The  birds 
that  sing  all  day  have  hushed,  and  the  horned  owls, 
the  monster  frogs,  and  that  strange  and  ominous  fowl 
(if  fowl  it  be,  and  not,  as  some  assert,  a  spirit 
damned)  which  we  English  call  the  whippoorwill,  are 
yet  silent.  Later  the  wolf  will  howl  and  the  .panther 
scream,  but  now  there  is  no  sound.  The  winds  are 
laid,  and  the  restless  leaves  droop  and  are  quiet.  The 
low  lap  o£  the  water  among  the  reeds  is  like  the 
breathing  of  one  who  sleeps  in  his  watch  beside  the 
dead. 

I  marked  the  light  die  from  the  broad  bosom  of  the 
river,  leaving  it  a  dead  man's  hue.  Awhile  ago,  and 
for  many  evenings,  it  had  been  crimson,  — a  river  of 
blood.  A  week  before,  a  great  meteor  had  shot 
through  the  night,  blood-red  and  bearded,  drawing  a 
slow-fading  fiery  trail  across  the  heavens ;  and  the 
moon  had  risen  that  same  night  blood-red,  and  upon 


2  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

its  disk  there  was  drawn  in  shadow  a  thing  most  mar- 
velously  like  a  scalping  knife.  Wherefore,  the  fol 
lowing  day  being  Sunday,  good  Mr.  Stockham,  our 
minister  at  Weyanoke,  exhorted  us  to  be  on  our 
guard,  and  in  his  prayer  besought  that  no  sedition  or 
rebellion  might  raise  its  head  amongst  the  Indian 
subjects  of  the  Lord's  anointed.  Afterward,  in  the 
churchyard,  between  the  services,  the  more  timorous 
began  to  tell  of  divers  portents  which  they  had  ob 
served,  and  to  recount  old  tales  of  how  the  savages 
distressed  us  in  the  Starving  Time.  The  bolder 
spirits  laughed  them  to  scorn,  but  the  women  began 
to  weep  and  cower,  and  I,  though  I  laughed  too, 
thought  of  Smith,  and  how  he  ever  held  the  savages, 
and  more  especially  that  Opechancanough  who  was 
now  their  emperor,  in  a  most  deep  distrust ;  telling  us 
that  the  red  men  watched  while  we  slept,  that  they 
might  teach  wiliness  to  a  Jesuit,  and  how  to  bide  its 
time  to  a  cat  crouched  before  a  mousehole.  I  thought 
of  the  terms  we  now  kept  with  these  heathen ;  of  how 
they  came  and  went  familiarly  amongst  us,  spying  out 
our  weakness,  and  losing  the  salutary  awe  which  that 
noblest  captain  had  struck  into  their  souls ;  of  how 
many  were  employed  as  hunters  to  bring  down  deer 
for  lazy  masters  ;  of  how,  breaking  the  law,  and  that 
not  secretly,  we  gave  them  knives  and  arms,  a  sol 
dier's  bread,  in  exchange  for  pelts  and  pearls  ;  of  how 
their  emperor  was  forever  sending  us  smooth  mes 
sages  ;  of  how  their  lips  smiled  and  their  eyes  frowned. 
That  afternoon,  as  I  rode  home  through  the  lengthen 
ing  shadows,  a  hunter,  red-brown  and  naked,  rose 
from  behind  a  fallen  tree  that  sprawled  across  my 
path,  and  made  offer  to  bring  me  my  meat  from  the 
moon  of  corn  to  the  moon  of  stags  in  exchange  for  a 


IN  WHICH  I  THROW  AMBS-ACE  3 

gun.  There  was  scant  love  between  the  savages  and 
myself,  —  it  was  answer  enough  when  I  told  him  my 
name.  I  left  the  dark  figure  standing,  still  as  a 
carved  stone,  in  the  heavy  shadow  of  the  trees,  and, 
spurring  my  horse  (sent  me  from  home,  the  year  be 
fore,  by  my  cousin  Percy),  was  soon  at  my  house,  — 
a  poor  and  rude  one,  but  pleasantly  set  upon  a  slope 
of  green  turf,  and  girt  with  maize  and  the  broad  leaves 
of  the  tobacco.  When  I  had  had  my  supper,  I  called 
from  their  hut  the  two  Paspahegh  lads  bought  by  me 
from  their  tribe  the  Michaelmas  before,  and  soundly 
flogged  them  both,  having  in  my  mind  a  saying  of  my 
ancient  captain's,  namely,  "  He  who  strikes  first  oft- 
times  strikes  last." 

Upon  the  afternoon  of  which  I  now  speak,  in  the 
midsummer  of  the  year  of  grace  1621,  as  I  sat  upon 
my  doorstep,  my  long  pipe  between  my  teeth  and  my 
eyes  upon  the  pallid  stream  below,  my  thoughts  were 
busy  with  these  matters,  —  so  busy  that  I  did  not  see 
a  horse  and  rider  emerge  from  the  dimness  of  the  for 
est  into  the  cleared  space  before  my  palisade,  nor 
knew,  until  his  voice  came  up  the  bank,  that  my  good 
friend,  Master  John  Kolfe,  was  without  and  would 
speak  to  me. 

I  went  down  to  the  gate,  and,  unbarring  it,  gave 
him  my  hand  and  led  the  horse  within  the  inclosure. 

"  Thou  careful  man  !  "  he  said,  with  a  laugh,  as  he 
dismounted.  "  Who  else,  think  you,  in  this  or  any 
other  hundred,  now  bars  his  gate  when  the  sun  goes 
down  ?  " 

"  It  is  my  sunset  gun,"  I  answered  briefly,  fastening 
his  horse  as  I  spoke. 

He  put  his  arm  about  my  shoulder,  for  we  were  old 
friends,  and  together  we  went  up  the  green  bank  to 


4  TO   HAVE   AND   TO   HOLD 

the  house,  and,  when  I  had  brought  him  a  pipe,  sat 
down  side  by  side  upon  the  doorstep. 

"  Of  what  were  you  dreaming  ?  "  he  asked  presently, 
when  we  had  made  for  ourselves  a  great  cloud  of 
smoke.  "  I  called  you  twice." 

"  I  was  wishing  for  Dale's  times  and  Dale's  laws." 

He  laughed,  and  touched  my  knee  with  his  hand, 
white  and  smooth  as  a  woman's,  and  with  a  green 
jewel  upon  the  forefinger. 

"  Thou  Mars  incarnate  !  "  he  cried.  "  Thou  first, 
last,  and  in  the  meantime  soldier !  Why,  what  wilt 
thou  do  when  thou  gettest  to  heaven  ?  Make  it  too 
hot  to  hold  thee  ?  Or  take  out  letters  of  marque 
against  the  Enemy  ?  " 

"  I  am  not  there  yet,"  I  said  dryly.  "  In  the  mean 
time  I  would  like  a  commission  against  —  your  rela 
tives." 

He  laughed,  then  sighed,  and,  sinking  his  chin  into 
his  hand  and  softly  tapping  his  foot  against  the  ground, 
fell  into  a  reverie. 

"  I  would  your  princess  were  alive,"  I  said  presently. 

"  So  do  I,"  he  answered  softly.  "  So  do  I."  Lock- 
ing  his  hands  behind  his  head,  he  raised  his  quiet  face 
to  the  evening  star.  "  Brave  and  wise  and  gentle," 
he  mused.  "  If  I  did  not  think  to  meet  her  again,  be- 
yond  that  star,  I  could  not  smile  and  speak  calmly, 
Ralph,  as  I  do  now." 

"  'T  is  a  strange  thing,"  I  said,  as  I  refilled  my  pipe. 
"  Love  for  your  brother-in-arms,  love  for  your  com 
mander  if  he  be  a  commander  worth  having,  love  for 
your  horse  and  dog,  I  understand.  But  wedded  love  ! 
to  tie  a  burden  around  one's  neck  because  't  is  pink 
and  white,  or  clear  bronze,  and  shaped  with  elegance ! 
Faugh !  " 


IN  WHICH  I  THROW  AMBS-ACE  5 

"  Yet  I  came  with  half  a  mind  to  persuade  thee  to 
that  very  burden  !  "  he  cried,  with  another  laugh. 

"  Thanks  for  thy  pains,"  I  said,  blowing  blue  rings 
into  the  air. 

"  I  have  ridden  to-day  from  Jamestown,"  he  went 
on.  "  I  was  the  only  man,  i'  faith,  that  cared  to  leave 
its  gates  ;  and  I  met  the  world  —  the  bachelor  world 
— -  flocking  to  them.  Not  a  mile  of  the  way  but  I  en 
countered  Tom,  Dick,  and  Harry,  dressed  in  their  Sun 
day  bravery  and  making  full  tilt  for  the  city.  And 
the  boats  upon  the  river !  I  have  seen  the  Thames 
less  crowded." 

"  There  was  more  passing  than  usual,"  I  said  ;  "  but 
I  was  busy  in  the  fields,  and  did  not  attend.  What 's 
the  lodestar  ?  " 

"  The  star  that  draws  us  all,  —  some  to  ruin,  some 
to  bliss  ineffable,  —  woman." 

"  Humph  !     The  maids  have  come,  then  ?  " 

He  nodded.  "  There 's  a  goodly  ship  down  there, 
with  a  goodly  lading." 

"  Videlicet,  some  fourscore  waiting  damsels  and 
milkmaids,  warranted  honest  by  my  Lord  Warwick," 
I  muttered. 

"  This  business  hath  been  of  Edwyn  Sandys'  man 
agement,  as  you  very  well  know,"  he  rejoined,  with 
some  heat.  "  His  word  is  good :  therefore  I  hold  them 
chaste.  That  they  are  fair  I  can  testify,  having  seen 
them  leave  the  ship." 

"  Fair  and  chaste,"  I  said,  "but  meanly  born." 

"  I  grant  you  that,"  he  answered.  "  But  after  all, 
what  of  it  ?  Beggars  must  not  be  choosers.  The 
land  is  new  and  must  be  peopled,  nor  will  those  who 
come  after  us  look  too  curiously  into  the  lineage  of 
those  to  whom  a  nation  owes  its  birth.  What  we  in 


6  TO   HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

these  plantations  need  is  a  loosening  of  the  bonds 
which  tie  us  to  home,  to  England,  and  a  tightening  of 
those  which  bind  us  to  this  land  in  which  we  have  cast 
our  lot.  We  put  our  hand  to  the  plough,  but  we  turn 
our  heads  and  look  to  our  Egypt  and  its  fleshpots. 
'T  is  children  and  wife  —  be  that  wife  princess  or 
peasant  —  that  make  home  of  a  desert,  that  bind  a 
man  with  chains  of  gold  to  the  country  where  they 
abide.  Wherefore,  when  at  midday  I  met  good  Master 
Wickham  rowing  down  from  Henricus  to  Jamestown, 
to  offer  his  aid  to  Master  Bucke  in  his  press  of  busi 
ness  to-morrow,  I  gave  the  good  man  Godspeed,  and 
thought  his  a  fruitful  errand  and  one  pleasing  to  the 
Lord." 

"  Amen,"  I  yawned.  "  I  love  the  land,  and  call  it 
home.  My  withers  are  unwrung." 

He  rose  to  his  feet,  and  began  to  pace  the  green 
sward  before  the  door.  My  eyes  followed  his  trim 
figure,  richly  though  sombrely  clad,  then  fell  with  a 
sudden  dissatisfaction  upon  my  own  stained  and  frayed 
apparel. 

"Ralph,"  he  said  presently,  coming  to  a  stand 
before  me,  "  have  you  ever  an  hundred  and  twenty 
pounds  of  tobacco  in  hand  ?  If  not,  I  "  — 

"  I  have  the  weed,"  I  replied.     "  What  then  ?  " 

"Then  at  dawn  drop  down  with  the  tide  to  the 
city,  and  secure  for  thyself  one  of  these  same  errant 
damsels." 

I  stared  at  him,  and  then  broke  into  laughter,  in 
which,  after  a  space  and  unwillingly,  he  himself  joined. 
When  at  length  I  wiped  the  water  from  my  eyes  it 
was  quite  dark,  the  whippoorwills  had  begun  to  call, 
and  Rolfe  must  needs  hasten  on.  I  went  with  him 
down  to  the  gate. 


IN  WHICH  I  THROW  AMBS-ACE  7 

"  Take  my  advice,  —  it  is  that  of  your  f  riend," 
he  said,  as  he  swung  himself  into  the  saddle.  He 
gathered  up  the  reins  and  struck  spurs  into  his  horse, 
then  turned  to  call  back  to  me :  "  Sleep  upon  my 
words,  Ralph,  and  the  next  time  I  come  I  look  to  see 
a  farthingale  behind  thee !  " 

"  Thou  art  as  like  to  see  one  upon  me,"  I  answered. 

Nevertheless,  when  he  had  gone,  and  I  climbed  the 
bank  and  reentered  the  house,  it  was  with  a  strange 
pang  at  the  cheerlessness  of  my  hearth,  and  an  angry 
and  unreasoning  impatience  at  the  lack  of  welcoming 
face  or  voice.  In  God's  name,  who  was  there  to  wel 
come  me  ?  None  but  my  hounds,  and  the  flying 
squirrel  I  had  caught  and  tamed.  Groping  my  way 
to  the  corner,  I  took  from  my  store  two  torches,  lit 
them,  and  stuck  them  into  the  holes  pierced  in  the 
mantel  shelf  ;  then  stood  beneath  the  clear  flame,  and 
looked  with  a  sudden  sick  distaste  upon  the  disorder 
which  the  light  betrayed.  The  fire  was  dead,  and 
ashes  and  embers  were  scattered  upon  the  hearth  \ 
fragments  of  my  last  meal  littered  the  table,  and  upon 
the  unwashed  floor  lay  the  bones  I  had  thrown  my 
dogs.  Dirt  and  confusion  reigned ;  only  upon  my 
armor,  my  sword  and  gun,  my  hunting  knife  and  dag 
ger,  there  was  no  spot  or  stain.  I  turned  to  gaze  upon 
them  where  they  hung  against  the  wall,  and  in  my 
soul  I  hated  the  piping  times  of  peace,  and  longed 
for  the  camp  fire  and  the  call  to  arms. 

With  an  impatient  sigh,  I  swept  the  litter  from  the 
table,  and,  taking  from  the  shelf  that  held  my  meagre 
library  a  bundle  of  Master  Shakespeare's  plays  (gath 
ered  for  me  by  Rolfe  when  he  was  last  in  London),  I 
began  to  read ;  but  my  thoughts  wandered,  and  the 
tale  seemed  dull  and  oft  told.  I  tossed  it  aside,  and, 


8  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

taking  dice  from  my  pocket,  began  to  throw.  As  I 
cast  the  bits  of  bone,  idly,  and  scarce  caring  to  ob 
serve  what  numbers  came  uppermost,  I  had  a  vision  of 
the  forester's  hut  at  home,  where,  when  I  was  a  boy, 
in  the  days  before  I  ran  away  to  the  wars  in  the  Low 
Countries,  I  had  spent  many  a  happy  hour.  Again 
I  saw  the  bright  light  of  the  fire  reflected  in  each 
well-scrubbed  crock  and  pannikin ;  again  I  heard  the 
cheerful  hum  of  the  wheel ;  again  the  face  of  the  for 
ester's  daughter  smiled  upon  me.  The  old  gray  manor 
house,  where  my  mother,  a  stately  dame,  sat  ever  at 
her  tapestry,  and  an  imperious  elder  brother  strode  to 
and  fro  among  his  hounds,  seemed  less  of  home  to 
me  than  did  that  tiny,  friendly  hut.  To-morrow  would 
be  my  thirty-sixth  birthday.  All  the  numbers  that 
I  cast  were  high.  "  If  I  throw  ambs-ace,"  I  said, 
with  a  smile  for  my  own  caprice,  "  curse  me  if  I  do 
not  take  Rolfe's  advice  !  " 

I  shook  the  box  and  clapped  it  down  upon  the  table, 
then  lifted  it,  and  stared  with  a  lengthening  face  at 
what  it  had  hidden  ;  which  done,  I  diced  no  more,  but 
put  out  my  lights  and  went  soberly  to  bed. 


CHAPTER   II 
IN  WHICH  I   MEET  MASTER  JEREMY   SPARROW 

MINE  are  not  dicers'  oaths.  The  stars  were  yet 
shining  when  I  left  the  house,  and,  after  a  word  with 
my  man  Diccon,  at  the  servants'  huts,  strode  down 
the  bank  and  through  the  gate  of  the  palisade  to  the 
wharf,  where  I  loosed  my  boat,  put  up  her  sail,  and 
turned  her  head  down  the  broad  stream.  The  wind 
was  fresh  and  favorable,  and  we  went  swiftly  down 
the  river  through  the  silver  mist  toward  the  sunrise. 
The  sky  grew  pale  pink  to  the  zenith ;  then  the  sun 
rose  and  drank  up  the  mist.  The  river  sparkled  and 
shone ;  from  the  fresh  green  banks  came  the  smell  of 
the  woods  and  the  song  of  birds  ;  above  rose  the  sky, 
bright  blue,  with  a  few  fleecy  clouds  drifting  across 
it.  I  thought  of  the  day,  thirteen  years  before,  when 
for  the  first  time  white  men  sailed  up  this  same  river, 
and  of  how  noble  its  width,  how  enchanting  its  shores, 
how  gay  and  sweet  their  blooms  and  odors,  how  vast 
their  trees,  how  strange  the  painted  savages,  had 
seemed  to  us,  storm-tossed  adventurers,  who  thought 
we  had  found  a  very  paradise,  the  Fortunate  Isles  at 
least.  How  quickly  were  we  undeceived  !  As  I  lay 
back  in  the  stern  with  half-shut  eyes  and  tiller  idle 
in  my  hand,  our  many  tribulations  and  our  few  joys 
passed  in  review  before  me.  Indian  attacks ;  dissen 
sion  and  strife  amongst  our  rulers;  true  men  per 
secuted,  false  knaves  elevated ;  the  weary  search  for 


10  TO   HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

gold  and  the  South  Sea ;  the  horror  of  the  pestilence 
and  the  blacker  horror  of  the  Starving  Time ;  the 
arrival  of  the  Patience  and  Deliverance,  whereat  we 
wept  like  children  ;  that  most  joyful  Sunday  morning 
when  we  followed  my  Lord  de  la  Warre  to  church; 
the  coming  of  Dale  with  that  stern  but  wholesome 
martial  code  which  was  no  stranger  to  me  who  had 
fought  under  Maurice  of  Nassau  ;  the  good  times  that 
followed,  when  bowl-playing  gallants  were  put  down, 
cities  founded,  forts  built,  and  the  gospel  preached ; 
the  marriage  of  Rolfe  and  his  dusky  princess ;  Argall's 
expedition,  in  which  I  played  a  part,  and  ArgalFs  in 
iquitous  rule ;  the  return  of  Yeardley  as  Sir  George, 
and  the  priceless  gift  he  brought  us,  —  all  this  and 
much  else,  old  friends,  old  enemies,  old  toils  and 
strifes  and  pleasures,  ran,  bitter-sweet,  through  my 
memory,  as  the  wind  and  flood  bore  me  on.  Of  what 
was  before  me  I  did  not  choose  to  think,  sufficient 
unto  the  hour  being  the  evil  thereof. 

The  river  seemed  deserted  :  no  horsemen  spurred 
along  the  bridle  path  on  the  shore  ;  the  boats  were 
few  and  far  between,  and  held  only  servants  or  In 
dians  or  very  old  men.  It  was  as  Rolfe  had  said, 
and  the  free  and  able-bodied  of  the  plantations  had 
put  out,  posthaste,  for  matrimony.  Chaplain's  Choice 
appeared  unpeopled ;  Piersey's  Hundred  slept  in  the 
sunshine,  its  wharf  deserted,  and  but  few,  slow-moving 
figures  in  the  tobacco  fields ;  even  the  Indian  villages 
looked  scant  of  all  but  squaws  and  children,  for  the 
braves  were  gone  to  see  the  palefaces  buy  their  wives. 
Below  Paspahegh  a  cockleshell  of  a  boat  carrying  a 
great  white  sail  overtook  me,  and  I  was  hailed  by 
young  Hamor. 

"The  maids  are  come!"  he  cried.  "Hurrah!" 
and  stood  up  to  wave  his  hat. 


IN  WHICH  I  MEET  MASTER  SPARROW        11 

"  Humph !  "  I  said.  "  I  guess  thy  destination  by 
thy  hose.  Are  they  not  '  those  that  were  thy  peach- 
colored  ones ' ?  " 

"  Oons !  yes ! "  he  answered,  looking  down  with 
complacency  upon  his  tarnished  finery.  "  Wedding 
garments,  Captain  Percy,  wedding  garments  !  " 

I  laughed.  "  Thou  art  a  tardy  bridegroom.  I 
thought  that  the  bachelors  of  this  quarter  of  the  globe 
slept  last  night  in  Jamestown." 

His  face  fell.  "  I  know  it,"  he  said  ruefully ;  "  but 
my  doublet  had  more  rents  than  slashes  in  it,  and 
Martin  Tailor  kept  it  until  cockcrow.  That  fellow 
rolls  in  tobacco ;  he  hath  grown  rich  off  our  impover 
ished  wardrobes  since  the  ship  down  yonder  passed 
the  capes.  After  all,"  he  brightened,  "  the  bargain 
ing  takes  not  place  until  toward  midday,  after  solemn 
service  and  thanksgiving.  There's  time  enough!" 
He  waved  me  a  farewell,  as  his  great  sail  and  narrow 
craft  carried  him  past  me. 

I  looked  at  the  sun,  which  truly  was  not  very  high, 
with  a  secret  disquietude ;  for  I  had  had  a  scurvy 
hope  that  after  all  I  should  be  too  late,  and  so  the 
noose  which  I  felt  tightening  about  my  neck  might 
unknot  itself.  Wind  and  tide  were  against  me,  and 
an  hour  later  saw  me  nearing  the  peninsula  and  mar 
veling  at  the  shipping  which  crowded  its  waters.  It 
was  as  if  every  sloop,  barge,  canoe,  and  dugout  be 
tween  Point  Comfort  and  Henricus  were  anchored  off 
its  shores,  while  above  them  towered  the  masts  of  the 
Marmaduke  and  Furtherance,  then  in  port,  and  of 
the  tall  ship  which  had  brought  in  those  doves  for 
sale.  The  river  with  its  dancing  freight,  the  blue 
heavens  and  bright  sunshine,  the  green  trees  waving 
in  the  wind,  the  stir  and  bustle  in  the  street  and  mar 
ket  place  thronged  with  gayly  dressed  gallants,  made 


12  TO   HAVE  AND  TO   HOLD 

a  fair  and  pleasant  scene.  As  I  drove  my  boat  in  be 
tween  the  sloop  of  the  commander  of  Shirley  Hundred 
and  the  canoe  of  the  Nansemond  werowance,  the  two 
bells  then  newly  hung  in  the  church  began  to  peal 
and  the  drum  to  beat.  Stepping  ashore,  I  had  a  rear 
view  only  of  the  folk  who  had  clustered  along  the 
banks  and  in  the  street,  their  faces  and  footsteps  be 
ing  with  one  accord  directed  toward  the  market  place. 
I  went  with  the  throng,  jostled  alike  by  velvet  and 
dowlas,  by  youths  with  their  estates  upon  their  backs 
and  naked  fantastically  painted  savages,  and  tram 
pling  the  tobacco  with  which  the  greedy  citizens  had 
planted  the  very  street.  In  the  square  I  brought  up 
before  the  Governor's  house,  and  found  myself  cheek 
by  jowl  with  Master  Pory,  our  Secretary,  and  Speaker 
of  the  Assembly. 

"  Ha,  Ralph  Percy  !  "  he  cried,  wagging  his  gray 
head,  "  we  two  be  the  only  sane  younkers  in  the  plan 
tations  !  All  the  others  are  horn-mad!  " 

"I  have  caught  the  infection,"  I  said,  "and  am  one 
of  the  bedlamites." 

He  stared,  then  broke  into  a  roar  of  laughter. 
"  Art  in  earnest  ?  "  he  asked,  holding  his  fat  sides. 
"  Is  Saul  among  the  prophets  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  I  answered.  "  I  diced  last  night,  —  yea  or 
no  ;  and  the  '  yea  '  —  plague  on  't  —  had  it." 

He  broke  into  another  roar.  "  And  thou  callest 
that  bridal  attire,  man  !  Why,  our  cow-keeper  goes 
in  flaming  silk  to-day !  " 

I  looked  down  upon  my  suit  of  buff,  which  had  in 
truth  seen  some  service,  and  at  my  great  boots,  which 
I  had  not  thought  to  clean  since  I  mired  in  a  swamp, 
coming  from  Henricus  the  week  before ;  then  shrugged 
my  shoulders. 


IN  WHICH   I  MEET  MASTER  SPARROW       13 

"  You  will  go  begging,"  he  continued,  wiping  his 
eyes.  "  Not  a  one  of  them  will  so  much  as  look  at 
you." 

"  Then  will  they  miss  seeing  a  man,  and  not  a  pop 
injay,"  I  retorted.  "  I  shall  not  break  my  heart." 

A  cheer  arose  from  the  crowd,  followed  by  a  crash 
ing  peal  of  the  bells  and  a  louder  roll,  of  the  drum. 
The  doors  of  the  houses  around  and  to  right  and  left 
of  the  square  swung  open,  and  the  company  which 
had  been  quartered  overnight  upon  the  citizens  began 
to  emerge.  By  twos  and  threes,  some  with  hurried 
steps  and  downcast  eyes,  others  more  slowly  and  with 
free  glances  at  the  staring  men,  they  gathered  to  the 
centre  of  the  square,  where,  in  surplice  and  band, 
there  awaited  them  godly  Master  Bucke  and  Master 
Wickham  of  Henricus.  I  stared  with  the  rest,  though 
I  did  not  add  my  voice  to  theirs. 

Before  the  arrival  of  yesterday's  ship  there  had 
been  in  this  natural  Eden  (leaving  the  savages  out 
of  the  reckoning)  several  thousand  Adams,  and  but 
some  threescore  Eves.  And  for  the  most  part,  the 
Eves  were  either  portly  and  bustling  or  withered  and 
shrewish  housewives,  of  age  and  experience  to  defy 
the  serpent.  These  were  different.  Ninety  slender 
figures  decked  in  all  the  bravery  they  could  assume ; 
ninety  comely  faces,  pink  and  white,  or  clear  brown 
with  the  rich  blood  showing  through ;  ninety  pair  of 
eyes,  laughing  and  alluring,  or  downcast  with  long 
fringes  sweeping  rounded  cheeks  ;  ninety  pair  of  ripe 
red  lips,  —  the  crowd  shouted  itself  hoarse  and  would 
not  be  restrained,  brushing  aside  like  straws  the  staves 
of  the  marshal  and  his  men,  and  surging  in  upon  the 
line  of  adventurous  damsels.  I  saw  young  men,  pant 
ing,  seize  hand  or  arm  and  strive  to  pull  toward  them 


14  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

some  reluctant  fair ;  others  snatched  kisses,  or  fell  on 
their  knees  and  began  speeches  out  of  Euphues; 
others  commenced  an  inventory  of  their  possessions, 
—  acres,  tobacco,  servants,  household  plenishing. 
All  was  hubbub,  protestation,  frightened  cries,  and 
hysterical  laughter.  The  officers  ran  to  and  fro, 
threatening  and  commanding ;  Master  Pory  alternately 
cried  "  Shame ! "  and  laughed  his  loudest ;  and  I 
plucked  away  a  jackanapes  of  sixteen  who  had  his 
hand  upon  a  girl's  ruff,  and  shook  him  until  the 
breath  was  well-nigh  out  of  him.  The  clamor  did  but 
increase. 

"  Way  for  the  Governor !  "  cried  the  marshal. 
"  Shame  on  you,  my  masters !  Way  for  his  Honor 
and  the  worshipful  Council !  " 

The  three  wooden  steps  leading  down  from  the 
door  of  the  Governor's  house  suddenly  blossomed  into 
crimson  and  gold,  as  his  Honor  with  the  attendant 
Councilors  emerged  from  the  hall  and  stood  staring 
at  the  mob  below. 

The  Governor's  honest  moon  face  was  quite  pale 
with  passion.  "  What  a  devil  is  this  ?  "  he  cried 
wrathfully.  "Did  you  never  see  a  woman  before? 
Where 's  the  marshal  ?  I  '11  imprison  the  last  one  of 
you  for  rioters  !  " 

Upon  the  platform  of  the  pillory,  which  stood  in 
the  centre  of  the  market  place,  suddenly  appeared  a 
man  of  a  gigantic  frame,  with  a  strong  face  deeply 
lined  and  a  great  shock  of  grizzled  hair,  —  a  strange 
thing,  for  he  was  not  old.  I  knew  him  to  be  one 
Master  Jeremy  Sparrow,  a  minister  brought  by  the 
Southampton  a  month  before,  and  as  yet  without  a 
charge,  but  at  that  time  I  had  not  spoken  with  him. 
Without  word  of  warning  he  thundered  into  a  psalm 


IN  WHICH  I  MEET  MASTER  SPARROW        15 

of  thanksgiving,  singing  it  at  the  top  of  a  powerful 
and  yet  sweet  and  tender  voice,  and  with  a  fervor  and 
exaltation  that  caught  the  heart  of  the  riotous  crowd. 
The  two  ministers  in  the  throng  beneath  took  up  the 
strain ;  Master  Pory  added  a  husky  tenor,  eloquent 
of  much  sack  ;  presently  we  were  all  singing.  The 
audacious  suitors,  charmed  into  rationality,  fell  back, 
and  the  broken  line  re-formed.  The  Governor  and 
the  Council  descended,  and  with  pomp  and  solemnity 
took  their  places  between  the  maids  and  the  two  min 
isters  who  were  to  head  the  column.  The  psalm 
ended,  the  drum  beat  a  thundering  roll,  and  the  pro 
cession  moved  forward  in  the  direction  of  the  church. 

Master  Pory  having  left  me,  to  take  his  place 
among  his  brethren  of  the  Council,  and  the  mob  of 
those  who  had  come  to  purchase  and  of  the  curious 
idle  having  streamed  away  at  the  heels  of  the  marshal 
and  his  officers,  I  found  myself  alone  in  the  square, 
save  for  the  singer,  who  now  descended  from  the  pil 
lory  and  came  up  to  me. 

"Captain  Ralph  Percy,  if  I  mistake  not?"  he  said, 
in  a  voice  as  deep  and  rich  as  the  bass  of  an  organ. 

"  The  same,"  I  answered.  "  And  you  are  Master 
Jeremy  Sparrow  ?  " 

"  Yea,  a  silly  preacher,  —  the  poorest,  meekest,  and 
lowliest  of  the  Lord's  servitors." 

His  deep  voice,  magnificent  frame,  and  bold  and 
free  address  so  gave  the  lie  to  the  humility  of  his 
words  that  I  had  much  ado  to  keep  from  laughing. 
He  saw,  and  his  face,  which  was  of  a  cast  most  mar 
tial,  flashed  into  a  smile,  like  sunshine  on  a  scarred 
cliff. 

"You  laugh  in  your  sleeve,"  he  said  good-hu- 
moredly,  "and  yet  I  am  but  what  I  profess  to  be. 


16  TO  HAVE  AND  TO   HOLD 

In  spirit  I  am  a  very  Job,  though  nature  hath  seen  fit 
to  dress  me  as  a  Samson.  I  assure  you,  I  am  worse 
misfitted  than  is  Master  Yardstick  yonder  in  those 
Falstaffian  hose.  But,  good  sir,  will  you  not  go  to 
church  ?  " 

"  If  the  church  were  Paul's,  I  might,"  I  answered. 
"  As  it  is,  we  could  not  get  within  fifty  feet  of  the 
door." 

"  Of  the  great  door,  ay,  but  the  ministers  may  pass 
through  the  side  door.  If  you  please,  I  will  take  you 
in  with  me.  The  pretty  fools  yonder  march  slowly ; 
if  we  turn  down  this  lane,  we  will  outstrip  them 
quite." 

"  Agreed,"  I  said,  and  we  turned  into  a  lane  thick 
planted  with  tobacco,  made  a  detour  of  the  Governor's 
house,  and  outflanked  the  procession,  arriving  at  the 
small  door  before  it  had  entered  the  churchyard. 
Here  we  found  the  sexton  mounting  guard. 

"  I  am  Master  Sparrow,  the  minister  that  came  in 
the  Southampton,"  my  new  acquaintance  explained. 
"  I  am  to  sit  in  the  choir.  Let  us  pass,  good  fellow." 

The  sexton  squared  himself  before  the  narrow  open 
ing,  and  swelled  with  importance. 

"  You,  reverend  sir,  I  will  admit,  such  being  my 
duty.  But  this  gentleman  is  no  preacher;  I  may 
not  allow  him  to  pass." 

"  You  mistake,  friend,"  said  my  companion  gravely. 
"  This  gentleman,  my  worthy  colleague,  has  but  just 
come  from  the  island  of  St.  Brandon,  where  he 
preaches  on  the  witches'  Sabbath  :  hence  the  disorder 
of  his  apparel.  His  admittance  be  on  my  head: 
wherefore  let  us  by." 

"  None  to  enter  at  the  west  door  save  Councilors, 
commander,  and  ministers.  Any  attempting  to  force 


IN  WHICH  I  MEET  MASTER  SPARROW        17 

an  entrance  to  be  arrested  and  laid  by  the  heels  if  they 
be  of  the  generality,  or,  if  they  be  of  quality,  to  be 
duly  fined  and  debarred  from  the  purchase  of  any 
maid  whatsoever,"  chanted  the  sexton. 

"  Then,  in  God's  name,  let 's  on !  "  I  exclaimed. 
"  Here,  try  this  !  "  and  I  drew  from  my  purse,  which 
was  something  of  the  leanest,  a  shilling. 

"Try  this,"  quoth  Master  Jeremy  Sparrow,  and 
knocked  the  sexton  down. 

We  left  the  fellow  sprawling  in  the  doorway,  sput 
tering  threats  to  the  air  without,  but  with  one  covet 
ous  hand  clutching  at  the  shilling  which  I  threw 
behind  me,  and  entered  the  church,  which  we  found 
yet  empty,  though  through  the  open  great  door  we 
heard  the  drum  beat  loudly  and  a  deepening  sound 
of  footsteps. 

"  I  have  choice  of  position,"  I  said.  "  Yonder  win 
dow  seems  a  good  station.  You  remain  here  in  the 
choir?" 

"  Ay,"  he  answered,  with  a  sigh ;  "  the  dignity  of  my 
calling  must  be  upheld  :  wherefore  I  sit  in  high  places, 
rubbing  elbows  with  gold  lace,  when  of  the  very  truth 
the  humility  of  my  spirit  is  such  that  I  would  feel 
more  at  home  in  the  servants'  seats  or  among  the 
negars  that  we  bought  last  year.". 

Had  we  not  been  in  church  I  would  have  laughed, 
though  indeed  I  saw  that  he  devoutly  believed  his  own 
words.  He  took  his  seat  in  the  largest  and  finest  of 
the  chairs  behind  the  great  velvet  one  reserved  for  the 
Governor,  while  I  went  and  leaned  against  my  win 
dow,  and  we  stared  at  each  other  across  the  flower- 
decked  building  in  profound  silence,  until,  with  one 
great  final  crash,  the  bells  ceased,  the  drum  stopped 
beating,  and  the  procession  entered. 


CHAPTER  III 

IN   WHICH   I   MAREY   IN   HASTE 

THE  long  service  of  praise  and  thanksgiving  was 
well-nigh  over  when  I  first  saw  her. 

She  sat  some  ten  feet  from  me,  in  the  corner,  and 
so  in  the  shadow  of  a  tall  pew.  Beyond  her  was  a 
row  of  milkmaid  beauties,  red  of  cheek,  free  of  eye, 
deep-bosomed,  and  beribboned  like  Maypoles.  I 
looked  again,  and  saw  —  and  see  —  a  rose  amongst 
blowzed  poppies  and  peonies,  a  pearl  amidst  glass 
beads,  a  Perdita  in  a  ring  of  rustics,  a  nonparella  of 
all  grace  and  beauty !  As  I  gazed  with  all  my  eyes, 
I  found  more  than  grace  and  beauty  in  that  wonderful 
face,  —  found  pride,  wit,  fire,  determination,  finally 
shame  and  anger.  For,  feeling  my  eyes  upon  her,  she 
looked  up  and  met  what  she  must  have  thought  the 
impudent  stare  of  an  appraiser.  Her  face,  which  had 
been  without  color,  pale  and  clear  like  the  sky  about 
the  evening  star,  went  crimson  in  a  moment.  She  bit 
her  lip  and  shot  at  me  one  withering  glance,  then 
dropped  her  eyelids  and  hid  the  lightning.  When  I 
looked  at  her  again,  covertly,  and  from  under  my 
hand  raised  as  though  to  push  back  my  hair,  she  was 
pale  once  more,  and  her  dark  eyes  were  fixed  upon  the 
water  and  the  green  trees  without  the  window. 

The  congregation  rose,  and  she  stood  up  with  the 
other  maids.  Her  dress  of  dark  woolen,  severe  and 
unadorned,  her  close  ruff  and  prim  white  coif,  would 


IN  WHICH  I  MARRY  IN  HASTE  19 

have  cried  "  Puritan,"  had  ever  Puritan  looked  like 
this  woman,  upon  whom  the  poor  apparel  had  the 
seeming  of  purple  and  ermine. 

Anon  came  the  benediction.  Governor,  Councilors, 
commanders,  and  ministers  left  the  choir  and  paced 
solemnly  down  the  aisle  ;  the  maids  closed  in  behind  ; 
and  we  who  had  lined  the  walls,  shifting  from  one 
heel  to  the  other  for  a  long  two  hours,  brought  up 
the  rear,  and  so  passed  from  the  church  to  a  fair  green 
meadow  adjacent  thereto.  Here  the  company  dis 
banded  ;  the  wearers  of  gold  lace  betaking  themselves 
to  seats  erected  in  the  shadow  of  a  mighty  oak,  and  the 
ministers,  of  whom  there  were  four,  bestowing  them 
selves  within  pulpits  of  turf.  For  one  altar  and  one 
clergyman  could  not  hope  to  dispatch  that  day's  busi 
ness. 

As  for  the  maids,  for  a  minute  or  more  they  made 
one  cluster ;  then,  shyly  or  with  laughter,  they  drifted 
apart  like  the  petals  of  a  wind-blown  rose,  and  silk 
doublet  and  hose  gave  chase.  Five  minutes  saw  the 
goodly  company  of  damsels  errant  and  would-be 
bridegrooms  scattered  far  and  near  over  the  smiling 
meadow.  For  the  most  part  they  went  man  and  maid, 
but  the  fairer  of  the  feminine  cohort  had  rings  of 
clamorous  suitors  from  whom  to  choose.  As  for  me, 
I  walked  alone ;  for  if  by  chance  I  neared  a  maid,  she 
looked  (womanlike)  at  my  apparel  first,  and  never 
reached  my  face,  but  squarely  turned  her  back.  So 
disengaged,  I  felt  like  a  guest  at  a  mask,  and  in  some 
measure  enjoyed  the  show,  though  with  an  uneasy 
consciousness  that  I  was  pledged  to  become,  sooner  or 
later,  a  part  of  the  spectacle.  I  saw  a  shepherdess 
fresh  from  Arcadia  wave  back  a  dozen  importunate 
gallants,  then  throw  a  knot  of  blue  ribbon  into  their 


20  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

midst,  laugh  with  glee  at  the  scramble  that  ensued, 
and  finally  march  off  with  the  wearer  of  the  favor.  I 
saw  a  neighbor  of  mine,  tall  Jack  Pride,  who  lived 
twelve  miles  above  me,  blush  and  stammer,  and  bow 
again  and  again  to  a  milliner's  apprentice  of  a  girl, 
not  five  feet  high  and  all  eyes,  who  dropped  a  curtsy 
at  each  bow.  When  I  had  passed  them  fifty  yards  or 
more,  and  looked  back,  they  were  still  bobbing  and 
bowing.  And  I  heard  a  dialogue  between  Phyllis 
and  Cory  don.  Says  Phyllis,  "  Any  poultry  ?  " 

Corydon.  "  A  matter  of  twalve  hens  and  twa 
cocks." 

Phyllis.     uAcow?" 

Corydon.     "  Twa." 

Phyllis.     "  How  much  tobacco  ?  " 

Corydon.  "  Three  acres,  hinny,  though  I  dinna 
drink  the  weed  mysel'.  I  'm  a  Stewart,  woman,  an' 
the  King's  puir  cousin." 

Phyllis.     "  What  household  plenishing  ?  " 

Corydon.  "Ane  large  bed,  ane  flock  bed,  ane 
trundle  bed,  ane  chest,  ane  trunk,  ane  leather  cairpet, 
sax  cawfskin  chairs  an'  twa-three  rush,  five  pair  o' 
sheets  an'  auchteen  dowlas  napkins,  sax  alchemy 
spunes " — 

Phyllis.     "  I  '11  take  you." 

At  the  far  end  of  the  meadow,  near  to  the  fort,  I 
met  young  Hamor,  alone,  flushed,  and  hurrying  back 
to  the  more  populous  part  of  the  field. 

"Not  yet  mated?"  I  asked.  "Where  are  the 
maids'  eyes  ?  " 

"  By !  "  he  answered,  with  an  angry  laugh. 

"  If  they  're  all  like  the  sample  I  've  just  left,  I  '11 
buy  me  a  squaw  from  the  Paspaheghs !  " 

I  smiled.     "  So  your  wooing  has  not  prospered  ?  " 


IN  WHICH  I  MARRY  IN  HASTE  21 

His  vanity  took  fire.  "  I  have  not  wooed  in  ear 
nest,"  he  said  carelessly,  and  hitched  forward  his 
cloak  of  sky-blue  tuf taffeta  with  an  air.  "  I  sheered 
off  quickly  enough,  I  warrant  you,  when  I  found  the 
nature  of  the  commodity  I  had  to  deal  with." 

"  Ah  !  "  I  said.  "  When  I  left  the  crowd  they  were 
going  very  fast.  You  had  best  hurry,  if  you  wish  to 
secure  a  bargain." 

"  I  'm  off,"  he  answered ;  then,  jerking  his  thumb 
over  his  shoulder,  "  If  you  keep  on  to  the  river  and 
that  clump  of  cedars,  you  will  find  Termagaunt  in  ruff 
and  farthingale." 

When  he  was  gone,  I  stood  still  for  a  while  and 
watched  the  slow  sweep  of  a  buzzard  high  in  the  blue, 
after  which  I  unsheathed  my  dagger,  and  with  it  tried 
to  scrape  the  dried  mud  from  my  boots.  Succeeding 
but  indifferently,  I  put  the  blade  up,  stared  again  at 
the  sky,  drew  a  long  breath,  and  marched  upon  the 
covert  of  cedars  indicated  by  Hamor. 

As  I  neared  it,  I  heard  at  first  only  the  wash  of 
the  river;  but  presently  there  came  to  my  ears  the 
sound  of  a  man's  voice,  and  then  a  woman's  angry 
"  Begone,  sir  !  " 

"Kiss  and  be  friends,"  said  the  man. 

The  sound  that  followed  being  something  of  the 
loudest  for  even  the  most  hearty  salutation,  I  was  not 
surprised,  on  parting  the  bushes,  to  find  the  man 
nursing  his  cheek,  and  the  maid  her  hand. 

"  You  shall  pay  well  for  that,  you  sweet  vixen !  " 
he  cried,  and  caught.her  by  both  wrists. 

She  struggled  fiercely,  bending  her  head  this  way 
and  that,  but  his  hot  lips  had  touched  her  face  before 
I  could  come  between. 

When  I  had  knocked  him  down  he  lay  where  he 


22  TO   HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

fell,  dazed  by  the  blow,  and  blinking  up  at  me  with 
his  small  ferret  eyes.  I  knew  him  to  be  one  Edward 
Sharpless,  and  I  knew  no  good  of  him.  He  had  been 
a  lawyer  in  England.  He  lay  on  the  very  brink  of 
the  stream,  with  one  arm  touching  the  water.  Flesh 
and  blood  could  not  resist  it,  so,  assisted  by  the  toe  of 
my  boot,  he  took  a  cold  bath  to  cool  his  hot  blood. 

When  he  had  clambered  out  and  had  gone  away, 
cursing,  I  turned  to  face  her.  She  stood  against 
the  trunk  of  a  great  cedar,  her  head  thrown  back,  a 
spot  of  angry  crimson  in  each  cheek,  one  small  hand 
clenched  at  her  throat.  I  had  heard  her  laugh  as 
Sharpless  touched  the  water,  but  now  there  was  only 
defiance  in  her  face.  As  we  gazed  at  each  other,  a 
burst  of  laughter  came  to  us  from  the  meadow  behind. 
I  looked  over  my  shoulder,  and  beheld  young  Hamor, 
—  probably  disappointed  of  a  wife,  —  with  Giles 
Allen  and  Wynne,  returning  to  his  abandoned  quarry. 
She  saw,  too,  for  the  crimson  spread  and  deepened 
and  her  bosom  heaved.  Her  dark  eyes,  glancing  here 
and  there  like  those  of  a  hunted  creature,  met  my 
own. 

"  Madam,"  I  said,  "  will  you  marry  me  ?" 

She  looked  at  me  strangely.  "  Do  you  live  here  ?  " 
she  asked  at  last,  with  a  disdainful  wave  of  her  hand 
toward  the  town. 

"  No,  madam,"  I  answered.  "  I  live  up  river,  in 
Weyanoke  Hundred,  some  miles  from  here." 

"  Then,  in  God's  name,  let  us  be  gone !  "  she  cried, 
with  sudden  passion. 

I  bowed  low,  and  advanced  to  kiss  her  hand. 

The  finger  tips  which  she  slowly  and  reluctantly 
resigned  to  me  were  icy,  and  the  look  with  which  she 
favored  me  was  not  such  an  one  as  poets  feign  for  like 


HE  LAY  WHERE  HE  FELL,  DAZED  BY  THE  BLOW 


IN  WHICH  I  MARRY  IN  HASTE  23 

occasions.  I  shrugged  the  shoulders  of  my  spirit,  but 
said  nothing.  So,  hand  in  hand,  though  at  arms' 
length,  we  passed  from  the  shade  of  the  cedars  into 
the  open  meadow,  where  we  presently  met  Hamor  and 
his  party.  They  would  have  barred  the  way,  laugh 
ing  and  making  unsavory  jests,  but  I  drew  her  closer 
to  me  and  laid  my  hand  upon  my  sword.  They  stood 
aside,  for  I  was  the  best  swordsman  in  Virginia. 

The  meadow  was  now  less  thronged.  The  river, 
up  and  down,  was  white  with  sailboats,  and  across 
the  neck  of  the  peninsula  went  a  line  of  horsemen, 
each  with  his  purchase  upon  a  pillion  behind  him. 
The  Governor,  the  Councilors,  and  the  commanders 
had  betaken  themselves  to  the  Governor's  house, 
where  a  great  dinner  was  to  be  given.  But  Master 
Piersey,  the  Cape  Merchant,  remained  to  see  the 
Company  reimbursed  to  the  last  leaf,  and  the  four 
ministers  still  found  occupation,  though  one  couple 
trod  not  upon  the  heels  of  another,  as  they  had  done 
an  hour  agone. 

"  I  must  first  satisfy  the  treasurer,"  I  said,  coming 
to  a  halt  within  fifty  feet  of  the  now  deserted  high 
places. 

She  drew  her  hand  from  mine,  and  looked  me  up 
and  down. 

"  How  much  is  it?"  she  asked  at  last.  "  I  will  pay 
it." 

I  stared  at  her. 

"  Can't  you  speak?  "  she  cried,  with  a  stamp  of  her 
foot.  "  At  what  am  I  valued  ?  Ten  pounds  —  fifty 
pounds " — 

"  At  one  hundred  and  twenty  pounds  of  tobacco, 
madam,"  I  said  dryly.  "I  will  pay  it  myself.  To 
what  name  upon  the  ship's  list  do  you  answer  ?  " 


24  TO  HAVE  AND  TO   HOLD 

"  Patience  Worth,"  she  replied. 

I  left  her  standing  there,  and  went  upon  my  errand 
with  a  whirling  brain.  Her  enrollment  in  that  com 
pany  proclaimed  her  meanly  born,  and  she  bore  her 
self  as  of  blood  royal ;  of  her  own  free  will  she  had 
crossed  an  ocean  to  meet  this  day,  and  she  held  in  pas 
sionate  hatred  this  day  and  all  that  .it  contained  ;  she 
was  come  to  Virginia  to  better  her  condition,  and  the 
purse  which  she  had  drawn  from  her  bosom  was  filled 
with  gold  pieces.  To  another  I  would  have  advised 
caution,  delay,  application  to  the  Governor,  inquiry; 
for  myself  I  cared  not  to  make  inquiries. 

The  treasurer  gave  me  my  receipt,  and  I  procured, 
from  the  crowd  around  him,  Humfrey  Kent,  a  good 
man  and  true,  and  old  Belfield,  the  perfumer,  for  wit 
nesses.  With  them  at  my  heels  I  went  back  to  her, 
and,  giving  her  my  hand,  was  making  for  the  nearest 
minister,  when  a  voice  at  a  little  distance  hailed  me, 
crying  out,  "  This  way,  Captain  Percy  !  " 

I  turned  toward  the  voice,  and  beheld  the  great 
figure  of  Master  Jeremy  Sparrow  sitting,  cross-legged 
like  the  Grand  Turk,  upon  a  grassy  hillock,  and  beck 
oning  to  me  from  that  elevation. 

"Our  acquaintance  hath  been  of  the  shortest,"  he 
said  genially,  when  the  maid,  the  witnesses,  and  I  had 
reached  the  foot  of  the  hillock,  "  but  I  have  taken  a 
liking  to  you  and  would  fain  do  you  a  service.  More 
over,  I  lack  employment.  The  maids  take  me  for  a 
hedge  parson,  and  sheer  off  to  my  brethren,  who  truly 
are  of  a  more  clerical  appearance.  Whereas  if  they 
could  only  look  upon  the  inner  man  !  You  have  been 
long  in  choosing,  but  have  doubtless  chosen  "  —  He 
glanced  from  me  to  the  woman  beside  me,  and  broke 
off  with  open  mouth  and  staring  eyes.  There  was 


IN  WHICH  I  MARRY  IN  HASTE  25 

excuse,  for  her  beauty  was  amazing.  "  A  paragon," 
he  ended,  recovering  himself. 

"  Marry  us  quickly,  friend,"  I  said.  "  Clouds  are 
gathering,  and  we  have  far  to  go." 

He  came  down  from  his  mound,  and  we  went  and 
stood  before  him.  I  had  around  my  neck  the  gold 
chain  given  me  upon  a  certain  occasion  by  Prince 
Maurice,  and  in  lieu  of  other  ring  I  now  twisted  off 
the  smallest  link  and  gave  it  to  her. 

"  Your  name  ?  "  asked  Master  Sparrow,  opening  his 
book. 

"  Ealph  Percy,  Gentleman." 

"And  yours?"  he  demanded,  staring  at  her  with  a 
somewhat  too  apparent  delight  in  her  beauty. 

She  flushed  richly  and  bit  her  lip. 

He  repeated  the  question. 

She  stood  a  minute  in  silence,  her  eyes  upon  the 
darkening  sky.  Then  she  said  in  a  low  voice,  "  Joce- 
lyn  Leigh." 

It  was  not  the  name  I  had  watched  the  Cape  Mer 
chant  strike  off  his  list.  I  turned  upon  her  and  made 
her  meet  ray  eyes.  "  What  is  your  name  ?  "  I  de 
manded.  "  Tell  me  the  truth  !  " 

"  I  have  told  it,"  she  answered  proudly.  "  It  is 
Jocelyn  Leigh." 

I  faced  the  minister  again.  "  Go  on/'  I  said 
briefly. 

"  The  Company  commands  that  no  constraint  be 
put  upon  its  poor  maids.  Wherefore,  do  you  marry 
this  man  of  your  own  free  will  and  choice?" 

"  Ay,"  she  said,  "  of  my  own  free  will." 

Well,  we  were  married,  and  Master  Jeremy  Sparrow 
wished  us  joy,  and  Kent  would  have  kissed  the  bride 
had  I  not  frowned  him  off.  He  and  Belfield  strode 


26  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

away,  and  I  left  her  there,  and  went  to  get  her  bundle 
from  the  house  that  had  sheltered  her  overnight.  Re 
turning,  I  found  her  seated  on  the  turf,  her  chin  in 
her  hand  and  her  dark  eyes  watching  the  distant  play 
of  lightning.  Master  Sparrow  had  left  his  post,  and 
was  nowhere  to  be  seen. 

I  gave  her  my  hand  and  led  her  to  Ihe  shore ;  then 
loosed  my  boat  and  helped  her  aboard.  I  was  push 
ing  off  when  a  voice  hailed  us  from  the  bank,  and  the 
next  instant  a  great  bunch  of  red  roses  whirled  past 
me  and  fell  into  her  lap.  "  Sweets  to  the  sweet,  you 
know,"  said  Master  Jeremy  Sparrow  genially.  "  Good- 
wife  Allen  will  never  miss  them." 

I  was  in  two  minds  whether  to  laugh  or  to  swear, 
—  for  I  had  never  given  her  flowers,  —  when  she 
settled  the  question  for  me  by  raising  the  crimson 
mass  and  bestowing  it  upon  the  flood. 

A  sudden  puff  of  wind  brought  the  sail  around, 
hiding  his  fallen  countenance.  The  wind  freshened, 
coming  from  the  bay,  and  the  boat  was  off  like  a 
startled  deer.  When  I  next  saw  him  he  had  recov 
ered  his  equanimity,  and,  with  a  smile  upon  his 
rugged  features,  was  waving  us  a  farewell.  I  looked 
at  the  beauty  opposite  me,  and,  with  a  sudden  move 
ment  of  pity  for  him,  mateless,  stood  up  and  waved 
to  him  vigorously  in  turn. 


CHAPTER  IV 

IN   WHICH   I   AM   LIKE   TO    KEPENT   AT   LEISURE 

WHEN  we  had  passed  the  mouth  of  the  Chicka- 
hominy,  I  broke  the  silence,  now  prolonged  beyond 
reason,  by  pointing  to  the  village  upon  its  bank, 
and  telling  her  something  of  Smith's  expedition  up 
that  river,  ending  by  asking  her  if  she  feared  the 
savages. 

When  at  length  she  succeeded  in  abstracting  her 
attention  from  the  clouds,  it  was  to  answer  in  the 
negative,  in  a  tone  of  the  supremest  indifference, 
after  which  she  relapsed  into  her  contemplation  of 
the  weather. 

Further  on  I  tried  again.  "  That  is  Kent's,  yonder. 
He  brought  his  wife  from  home  last  year.  What 
a  hedge  of  sunflowers  she  has  planted !  If  you  love 
flowers,  you  will  find  those  of  paradise  in  these  woods." 

No  answer. 

Below  Martin-Brandon  we  met  a  canoe  full  of 
Paspaheghs,  bound  upon  a  friendly  visit  to  some  one 
of  the  down-river  tribes  ;  for  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat 
reposed  a  fat  buck,  and  at  the  feet  of  the  young  men 
lay  trenchers  of  maize  cakes  and  of  late  mulberries. 
I  hailed  them,  and  when  we  were  alongside  held  up 
the  brooch  from  my  hat,  then  pointed  to  the  purple 
fruit.  The  exchange  was  soon  made  ;  they  sped  away, 
and  I  placed  the  mulberries  upon  the  thwart  beside 
her. 


28  TO  HAVE  AND  TO   HOLD 

"  I  am  not  hungry,"  she  said  coldly.  "Take  them 
away." 

I  bit  my  lip,  and  returned  to  my  place  at  the  tiller. 
This  rose  was  set  with  thorns,  and  already  I  felt 
their  sting.  Presently  she  leaned  back  in  the  nest 
I  had  made  for  her.  "  I  wish  to  sleep,"  she  said 
haughtily,  and,  turning  her  face  from  me,  pillowed 
her  head  upon  her  arms. 

I  sat,  bent  forward,  the  tiller  in  my  hand,  and 
stared  at  my  wife  in  some  consternation.  This  was 
not  the  tame  pigeon,  the  rosy,  humble,  domestic  crea 
ture  who  was  to  make  me  a  home  and  rear  me  chil 
dren.  A  sea  bird  with  broad  white  wings  swooped 
down  upon  the  water,  now  dark  and  ridged,  rested 
there  a  moment,  then  swept  away  into  the  heart  of 
the  gathering  storm.  She  was  liker  such  an  one. 
Such  birds  were  caught  at  times,  but  never  tamed 
and  never  kept. 

The  lightning,  which  had  played  incessantly  in 
pale  flashes  across  the  low  clouds  in  the  south,  now 
leaped  to  higher  peaks  and  became  more  vivid,  and 
the  muttering  of  the  thunder  changed  to  long,  boom 
ing  peals.  Thirteen  years  before,  the  Virginia  storms 
had  struck  us  with  terror.  Compared  with  those  of 
the  Old  World  we  had  left,  they  were  as  cannon  to 
the  whistling  of  arrows,  as  breakers  on  an  iron  coast 
to  the  dull  wash  of  level  seas.  Now  they  were  nothing 
to  me,  but  as  the  peals  changed  to  great  crashes  as 
of  falling  cities,  I  marveled  to  see  my  wife  sleeping 
so  quietly.  The  rain  began  to  fall,  slowly,  in  large 
sullen  drops,  and  I  rose  to  cover  her  with  my  cloak. 
Then  I  saw  that  the  sleep  was  feigned,  for  she  was 
gazing  at  the  storm  with  wide  eyes,  though  with  no 
fear  in  their  dark  depths.  When  I  moved  they  closed, 


I  AM  LIKE  TO  REPENT   AT  LEISURE          29 

and  when  I  reached  her  the  lashes  still  swept  her 
cheeks,  and  she  breathed  evenly  through  parted  lips. 
But,  against  her  will,  she  shrank  from  my  touch  as  I 
put  the  cloak  about  her ;  and  when  I  had  returned  to 
my  seat,  I  bent  to  one  side  and  saw,  as  I  had  expected 
to  see,  that  her  eyes  were  wide  open  again.  If  she 
had  been  one  whit  less  beautiful,  I  would  have  wished 
her  back  at  Jamestown,  back  on  the  Atlantic,  back  at 
whatever  outlandish  place,  where  manners  were  un 
known,  that  had  owned  her  and  cast  her  out.  Pride 
and  temper!  I  set  my  lips,  and  vowed  that  she 
should  find  her  match. 

The  storm  did  not  last.  Ere  we  had  reached  Pier- 
sey's  the  rain  had  ceased  and  the  clouds  were  break 
ing  ;  above  Chaplain's  Choice  hung  a  great  rainbow  ; 
we  passed  Tants  Weyanoke  in  the  glory  of  the  sunset, 
all  shattered  gold  and  crimson.  Not  a  word  had  been 
spoken.  I  sat  in  a  humor  grim  enough,  and  she  lay 
there  before  me,  wide  awake,  staring  at  the  shifting 
banks  and  running  water,  and  thinking  that  I  thought 
she  slept. 

At  last  my  own  wharf  rose  before  me  through  the 
gathering  dusk,  and  beyond  it  shone  out  a  light ;  for 
I  had  told  Diccon  to  set  my  house  in  order,  and  to 
provide  fire  and  torches,  that  my  wife  might  see  I 
wished  to  do  her  honor.  I  looked  at  that  wife,  and 
of  a  sudden  the  anger  in  my  heart  melted  away.  It 
was  a  wilderness  vast  and  dreadful  to  which  she  had 
come,  The  mighty  stream,  the  towering  forests,  the 
black  skies  and  deafening  thunder,  the  wild  cries  of 
bird  and  beast,  the  savages,  uncouth  and  terrible,  — 
for  a  moment  I  saw  my  world  as  the  woman  at  my 
feet  must  see  it,  strange,  wild,  and  menacing,  an  evil 
land,  the  other  side  of  the  moon.  A  thing  that  I  had 


30  TO   HAVE  AND  TO   HOLD 

forgotten  came  to  my  mind :  how  that,  after  our  land 
ing  at  Jamestown,  years  before,  a  boy  whom  we  had 
with  us  did  each  night  fill  with  cries  and  lamentations 
the  hut  where  he  lay  with  my  cousin  Percy,  Gosnold, 
and  myself,  nor  would  cease  though  we  tried  both 
crying  shame  and  a  rope's  end.  It  was  not  for  home 
sickness,  for  he  had  110  mother  or  kin  or  home ;  and 
at  length  Master  Hunt  brought  him  to  confess  that  it 
was  but  pure  panic  terror  of  the  land  itself,  —  not  of 
the  Indians  or  of  our  hardships,  both  of  which  he 
faced  bravely  enough,  but  of  the  strange  trees  and 
the  high  and  long  roofs  of  vine,  of  the  black  sliding 
earth  and  the  white  mist,  of  the  fireflies  and  the  whip- 
poorwills,  —  a  sick  fear  of  primeval  Nature  and  her 
tragic  mask. 

This  was  a  woman,  young,  alone,  and  friendless, 
unless  I,  who  had  sworn  to  cherish  and  protect  her, 
should  prove  myself  her  friend.  Wherefore,  when,  a 
few  minutes  later,  I  bent  over  her,  it  was  with  all 
gentleness  that  I  touched  and  spoke  to  her. 

"  Our  journey  is  over,"  I  said.  "  This  is  home,  my 
dear." 

She  let  me  help  her  to  her  feet,  and  up  the  wet  and 
slippery  steps  to  the  level  of  the  wharf.  It  was  now 
quite  dark,  there  being  no  moon,  and  thin  clouds  ob 
scuring  the  stars.  The  touch  of  her  hand,  which  I 
perforce  held  since  I  must  guide  her  over  the  long, 
narrow,  and  unrailed  trestle,  chilled  me,  and  her 
breathing  was  hurried,  but  she  moved  by  my  side 
through  the  gross  darkness  unfalteringly  enough. 
Arrived  at  the  gate  of  the  palisade,  I  beat  upon  it 
with  the  hilt  of  my  sword,  and  shouted  to  my  men  to 
open  to  us.  A  moment,  and  a  dozen  torches  came 
flaring  down  the  bank.  Diccon  shot  back  the  bolts, 


I  AM  LIKE  TO   REPENT  AT  LEISURE          31 

and  we  entered.  The  men  drew  up  and  saluted;  for 
I  held  my  manor  a  camp,  my  servants  soldiers,  and 
myself  their  captain. 

I  have  seen  worse  favored  companies,  but  doubtless 
the  woman  beside  me  had  not.  Perhaps,  too,  the  red 
light  of  the  torches,  now  flaring  brightly,  now  sunk 
before  the  wind,  gave  their  countenances  a  more  vil 
lainous  cast  than  usual.  They  were  not  all  bad. 
Diccon  had  the  virtue  of  fidelity,  if  none  other ;  there 
were  a  brace  of  Puritans,  and  a  handful  of  honest 
fools,  who,  if  they  drilled  badly,  yet  abhorred  mutiny. 
But  the  half  dozen  I  had  taken  off  Argall's  hands  ; 
the  Dutchmen  who  might  have  been  own  brothers  to 
those  two  Judases,  Adam  and  Francis ;  the  thief  and 
the  highwayman  I  had  bought  from  the  precious  crew 
sent  us  by  the  King  the  year  before ;  the  negro  and 
the  Indians  —  small  wonder  that  she  shrank  and  cow 
ered.  It  was  but  for  a  moment.  I  was  yet  seeking 
for  words  sufficiently  reassuring  when  she  was  herself 
again.  She  did  not  deign  to  notice  the  men's  awk 
ward  salute,  and  when  Diccon,  a  handsome  rogue 
enough,  advancing  to  light  us  up  the  bank,  brushed 
by  her  something  too  closely,  she  drew  away  her  skirts 
as  though  he  had  been  a  lazar.  At  my  own  door  I 
turned  and  spoke  to  the  men,  who  had  followed  us  r.p 
the  ascent. 

"  This  lady,"  I  said,  taking  her  hand  as  she  stood 
beside  me,  "  is  my  true  and  lawful  wife,  your  mistress, 
to  be  honored  and  obeyed  as  such.  Who  fails  in  re 
verence  to  her  I  hold  as  mutinous  to  myself,  and  will 
deal  with  him  accordingly.  She  gives  you  to-morrow 
for  holiday,  with  double  rations,  and  to  each  a  mea 
sure  of  rum.  Now  thank  her  properly." 

They  cheered  lustily,  of  course,  and  Diccon,  step- 


32  TO   HAVE  AND  TO   HOLD 

ping  forward,  gave  us  thanks  in  the  name  of  them  all, 
and  wished  us  joy.  After  which,  with  another  cheer, 
they  backed  from  out  our  presence,  then  turned  and 
made  for  their  quarters,  while  I  led  my  wife  within 
the  house  and  closed  the  door. 

Diccon  was  an  ingenious  scoundrel.  I  had  told  him 
to  banish  the  dogs,  to  have  the  house  cleaned  and  lit, 
and  supper  upon  the  table  ;  but  I  had  not  ordered  the 
floor  to  be  strewn  with  rushes,  the  walls  draped  with 
flowering  vines,  a  great  jar  filled  with  sunflowers,  and 
an  illumination  of  a  dozen  torches.  Nevertheless,  it 
looked  well,  and  I  highly  approved  the  capon  and 
maize  cakes,  the  venison  pasty  and  ale,  with  which  the 
table  was  set.  Through  the  open  doors  of  the  two 
other  rooms  were  to  be  seen  more  rushes,  more  flowers, 
and  more  lights. 

To  the  larger  of  these  rooms  I  now  led  the  way,  de 
posited  her  bundle  upon  the  settle,  and  saw  that  Dic 
con  had  provided  fair  water  for  her  face  and  hands ; 
which  done,  I  told  her  that  supper  waited  upon  her 
convenience,  and  went  back  to  the  great  room. 

She  was  long  in  coming,  so  long  that  I  grew  impa 
tient  and  went  to  call  her.  The  door  was  ajar,  and  so 
I  saw  her,  kneeling  in  the  middle  of  the  floor,  her 
head  thrown  back,  her  hands  raised  and  clasped,  on 
her  face  terror  and  anguish  of  spirit  written  so  large 
that  I  started  to  see  it.  I  stared  in  amazement,  and, 
had  I  followed  my  first  impulse,  would  have  gone  to 
her,  as  I  would  have  gone  to  any  other  creature  in  so 
dire  distress.  On  second  thoughts,  I  went  noiselessly 
back  to  my  station  in  the  great  room.  She  had  not 
seen  me,  I  was  sure.  Nor  had  I  long  to  wait.  Pre 
sently  she  appeared,  and  I  could  have  doubted  the 
testimony  of  my  eyes,  so  changed  were  the  agonized 


I  AM  LIKE   TO  REPENT  AT  LEISURE          33 

face  and  figure  of  a  few  moments  before.  Beautiful 
and  disdainful,  she  moved  to  the  table,  and  took  the 
great  chair  drawn  before  it  with  the  air  of  an  empress 
mounting  a  throne.  I  contented  myself  with  the  stool. 

She  ate  nothing,  and  scarcely  touched  the  canary  I 
poured  for  her.  I  pressed  upon  her  wine  and  viands, 
—  in  vain  ;  I  strove  to  make  conversation,  —  equally 
in  vain.  Finally,  tired  of  "  yes  "  and  "  no  "  uttered 
as  though  she  were  reluctantly  casting  pearls  before 
swine,  I  desisted,  and  applied  myself  to  my  supper  in 
a  silence  as  sullen  as  her  own.  At  last  we  rose  from 
table,  and  I  went  to  look  to  the  fastenings  of  door 
and  windows,  and  returning  found  her  standing  in 
the  centre  of  the  room,  her  head  up  and  her  hands 
clenched  at  her  sides.  I  saw  that  we  were  to  have  it 
out  then  and  there,  and  I  was  glad  of  it. 

"  You  have  something  to  say,"  I  said.  "  I  am  quite 
at  your  command,"  and  I  went  and  leaned  against  the 
chimneypiece. 

The  low  fire  upon  the  hearth  burnt  lower  still 
before  she  broke  the  silence.  When  she  did  speak 
it  was  slowly,  and  with  a  voice  which  was  evidently 
controlled  only  by  a  strong  effort  of  a  strong  will. 
She  said :  — 

"  When  —  yesterday,  to-day,  ten  thousand  years 
ago  —  you  went  from  this  horrible  forest  down  to  that 
wretched  village  yonder,  to  those  huts  that  make  your 
London,  you  went  to  buy  you  a  wife?  " 

"  Yes,  madam,"  I  answered.  "  I  went  with  that 
intention." 

"  You  had  made  your  calculation  ?  In  your  mind 
you  had  pitched  upon  such  and  such  an  article,  with 
such  and  such  qualities,  as  desirable  ?  Doubtless  you 
meant  to  get  your  money's  worth?  " 


34  TO   HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

"  Doubtless,"  I  said  dryly. 

"  Will  you  tell  me  what  you  were  inclined  to  con 
sider  its  equivalent  ?  " 

I  stared  at  her,  much  inclined  to  laugh.  The  in 
terview  promised  to  be  interesting. 

"  I  went  to  Jamestown  to  get  me  a  wife,"  I  said  at 
length,  "  because  I  had  pledged  my  word  that  I  would 
do  so.  I  was  not  over-anxious.  I  did  not  run  all 
the  way.  But,  as  you  say,  I  intended  to  do  the  best 
I  could  for  myself  ;  one  hundred  and  twenty  pounds 
of  tobacco  being  a  considerable  sum,  and  not  to  be 
lightly  thrown  away.  I  went  to  look  for  a  mistress 
for  my  house,  a  companion  for  my  idle  hours,  a  rosy, 
humble,  docile  lass,  with  no  aspirations  beyond  clean 
liness  and  good  temper,  who  was  to  order  my  house 
hold  and  make  me  a  home.  I  was  to  be  her  head 
and  her  law,  but  also  her  sword  and  shield.  That  is 
what  I  went  to  look  for." 

"  And  you  found  —  me  !  "  she  said,  and  broke  into 
strange  laughter. 

I  bowed. 

"  In  God's  name,  why  did  you  not  go  further?" 

I  suppose  she  saw  in  my  face  why  I  went  no  fur 
ther,  for  into  her  own  the  color  came  flaming. 

"  I  am  not  what  I  seem !  "  she  cried  out.  "  I  was 
not  in  that  company  of  choice  !  " 

I  bowed  again.  "  You  have  no  need  to  tell  me  that, 
madam,"  I  said.  "I  have  eyes.  I  desire  to  know 
why  you  were  there  at  all,  and  why  you  married  me." 

She  turned  from  me,  until  I  could  see  nothing  but 
the  coiled  wealth  of  her  hair  and  the  bit  of  white 
neck  between  it  and  the  ruff.  We  stood  so  in  silence, 
she  with  bent  head  and  fingers  clasping  and  unclasp 
ing,  I  leaning  against  the  wall  and  staring  at  her,  for 


I  AM  LIKE  TO   REPENT  AT  LEISURE          35 

what  seemed  a  long  time.  At  least  I  had  time  to 
grow  impatient,  when  she  faced  me  again,  and  all  my 
irritation  vanished  in  a  gasp  of  admiration. 

Oh,  she  was  beautiful,  and  of  a  sweetness  most 
alluring  and  fatal !  Had  Medea  worn  such  a  look, 
sure  Jason  had  quite  forgot  the  fleece,  and  with  those 
eyes  Circe  had  needed  no  other  charm  to  make  men 
what  she  would.  Her  voice,  when  she  spoke,  was  no 
longer  imperious  ;  it  was  low  pleading  music.  And 
she  held  out  entreating  hands. 

"  Have  pity  on  me,"  she  said.  "  Listen  kindly, 
and  have  pity  on  me.  You  are  a  strong  man  and 
wear  a  sword.  You  can  cut  your  way  through  trouble 
and  peril.  I  am  a  woman,  weak,  friendless,  helpless. 
I  was  in  distress  and  peril,  and  I  had  no  arm  to  save, 
no  knight  to  fight  my  battle.  I  do  not  love  deceit. 
Ah,  do  not  think  that  I  have  not  hated  myself  for  the 
lie  I  have  been.  But  these  forest  creatures  that  you 
take,  —  will  they  not  bite  against  springe  and  snare  ? 
Are  they  scrupulous  as  to  how  they  free  themselves? 
I  too  was  in  the  toils  of  the  hunter,  and  I  too  was  not 
scrupulous.  There  was  a  thing  of  which  I  stood  in 
danger  that  would  have  been  bitterer  to  me,  a  thou 
sand  times,  than  death.  I  had  but  one  thought,  to 
escape  ;  how,  I  did  not  care,  —  only  to  escape.  I  had 
a  waiting  woman  named  Patience  Worth.  One  night 
she  came  to  me,  weeping.  She  had  wearied  of  ser 
vice,  and  had  signed  to  go  to  Virginia  as  one  of  Sir 
Edwyn  Sandys'  maids,  and  at  the  last  moment  her 
heart  had  failed  her.  There  had  been  pressure  brought 
to  bear  upon  me  that  day,  —  I  had  been  angered  to 
the  very  soul.  I  sent  her  away  with  a  heavy  bribe, 
and  in  her  dress  and  under  her  name  I  fled  from  — 
I  went  aboard  that  ship.  No  one  guessed  that  I  was 


36  TO  HAVE  AND  TO   HOLD 

not  the  Patience  Worth  to  whose  name  I  answered. 
No  one  knows  now,  —  none  but  you,  none  but  you." 

"  And  why  am  I  so  far  honored,  madam  ?  "  I  said 
bluntly. 

She  crimsoned,  then  went  white  again.  She  was 
trembling  now  through  her  whole  frame.  At  last  she 
broke  out :  "  I  am  not  of  that  crew  that  came  to 
marry !  To  me  you  are  the  veriest  stranger,  —  you 
are  but  the  hand  at  which  I  caught  to  draw  myself 
from  a  pit  that  had  been  digged  for  me.  It  was  my 
hope  that  this  hour  would  never  come.  When  I  fled, 
mad  for  escape,  willing  to  dare  anything  but  that 
which  I  left  behind,  I  thought,  '  I  may  die  before  that 
ship  with  its  shameless  cargo  sets  sail.'  When  the 
ship  set  sail,  and  we  met  with  stormy  weather,  and 
there  was  much  sickness  aboard,  I  thought,  '  I  may 
drown  or  I  may  die  of  the  fever.'  When,  this  after 
noon,  I  lay  there  in  the  boat,  coming  up  this  dreadful 
river  through  the  glare  of  the  lightning,  and  you 
thought  I  slept,  I  was  thinking,  4  The  bolts  may  strike 
me  yet,  and  all  will  be  well.'  I  prayed  for  that  death, 
but  the  storm  passed.  I  am  not  without  shame.  I 
know  that  you  must  think  all  ill  of  me,  that  you  must 
feel  yourself  gulled  and  cheated.  I  am  sorry  —  that 
is  all  I  can  say  —  I  am  sorry.  I  am  your  wife  —  I 
was  married  to  you  to-day  —  but  I  know  you  not  and 
love  you  not.  I  ask  you  to  hold  me  as  I  hold  myself, 
a  guest  in  your  house,  nothing  more.  I  am  quite  at 
your  mercy.  I  am  entirely  friendless,  entirely  alone. 
I  appeal  to  your  generosity,  to  your  honor  "  — 

Before  I  could  prevent  her  she  was  kneeling  to  me, 
and  she  would  not  rise,  though  I  bade  her  do  so. 

I  went  to  the  door,  unbarred  it,  and  looked  out  into 
the  night,  for  the  air  within  the  room  stifled  me.  It 


I  AM  LIKE  TO  REPENT  AT  LEISURE          37 

was  not  much  better  outside.  The  clouds  had  gath 
ered  again,  and  were  now  hanging  thick  and  low. 
From  the  distance  came  a  rumble  of  thunder,  and  the 
whole  night  was  dull,  heavy,  and  breathless.  Hot 
anger  possessed  me :  anger  against  Kolfe  for  suggest 
ing  this  thing  to  me ;  anger  against  myself  for  that 
unlucky  throw  ;  anger,  most  of  all,  against  the  woman 
who  had  so  cozened  me.  In  the  servants'  huts,  a  hun 
dred  yards  away,  lights  were  still  burning,  against 
rule,  for  the  hour  was  late.  Glad  that  there  was 
something  I  could  rail  out  against,  I  strode  down 
upon  the  men,  and  caught  them  assembled  in  Diccon's 
cabin,  dicing  for  to-morrow's  rum.  When  I  had 
struck  out  the  light  with  my  rapier,  and  had  rated 
the  rogues  to  their  several  quarters,  I  went  back 
through  the  gathering  storm  to  the  brightly-lit,  flower- 
decked  room,  and  to  Mistress  Percy. 

She  was  still  kneeling,  her  hands  at  her  breast,  and 
her  eyes,  wide  and  dark,  fixed  upon  the  blackness 
without  the  open  door.  I  went  up  to  her  and  took 
her  by  the  hand. 

"  I  am  a  gentleman,  madam,"  I  said.  "  You  need 
have  no  fear  of  me.  I  pray  you  to  rise." 

She  stood  up  at  that,  and  her  breath  came  hurriedly 
through  her  parted  lips,  but  she  did  not  speak. 

"  It  grows  late,  and  you  must  be  weary,"  I  contin 
ued.  "  Your  room  is  yonder.  I  trust  that  you  will 
sleep  well.  Good-night." 

I  bowed  low,  and  she  curtsied  to  me.  "  Good 
night,"  she  said. 

On  her  way  to  the  door,  she  brushed  against  the 
rack  wherein  hung  my  weapons.  Among  them  was 
a  small  dagger.  Her  quick  eye  caught  its  gleam,  and 
I  saw  her  press  closer  to  the  wall,  and  with  her  right 


38  TO  HAVE  AND  TO   HOLD 

hand  strive  stealthily  to  detach  the  blade  from  its 
fastening.  She  did  not  understand  the  trick.  Her 
hand  dropped  to  her  side,  and  she  was  passing  on, 
when  I  crossed  the  room,  loosened  the  dagger,  and 
offered  it  to  her,  with  a  smile  and  a  bow.  She  flushed 
scarlet  and  bit  her  lips,  but  she  took  it. 

"  There  are  bars  to  the  door  within,"  I  said. 
"  Again,  good-night." 

u  Good-night,"  she  answered,  and,  entering  the 
room,  she  shut  the  door.  A  moment  more,  and  I 
heard  the  heavy  bars  drop  into  place. 


CHAPTER  V 

IN   WHICH   A   WOMAN   HAS   HER   WAY 

TEN  days  later,  Rolfe,  going  down  river  in  his 
barge,  touched  at  my  wharf,  and  finding  me  there 
walked  with  me  toward  the  house. 

"  I  have  not  seen  you  since  you  laughed  my  advice 
to  scorn  —  and  took  it,"  he  said.  "  Where 's  the  far 
thingale,  Benedick  the  married  man  ?  " 

"In  the  house." 

"  Oh,  ay  !  "  he  commented.  "  It 's  near  to  supper 
time.  I  trust  she 's  a  good  cook  ?  " 

"  She  does  not  cook,"  I  said  dryly.  "  I  have  hired 
old  Goody  Cotton  to  do  that." 

He  eyed  me  closely.  "  By  all  the  gods !  a  new 
doublet !  She  is  skillful  with  her  needle,  then  ?  " 

"  She  may  be,"  I  answered.  "  Having  never  seen 
her  with  one,  I  am  no  judge.  The  doublet  was  made 
by  the  tailor  at  Flowerdieu  Hundred." 

By  this  we  had  reached  the  level  sward  at  the  top 
of  the  bank.  " Roses  !  "  he  exclaimed,  —  "a  long 
row  of  them  new  planted  !  An  arbor,  too,  and  a  seat 
beneath  the  big  walnut !  Since  when  hast  thou  turned 
gardner,  Ralph  ?  " 

"  It 's  Diccon's  doing.  He  is  anxious  to  please  his 
mistress." 

"  Who  neither  sews,  nor  cooks,  nor  plants  !  What 
does  she  do  ?  " 

"  She  pulls  the  roses,"  I  said.     "  Come  in." 


40  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

When  we  had  entered  the  house  he  stared  about 
him  ;  then  cried  out,  "  Acrasia's  bower !  Oh,  thou 
sometime  Guy  on !  "  and  began  to  laugh. 

It  was  late  afternoon,  and  the  slant  sunshine  stream 
ing  in  at  door  and  window  striped  wall  and  floor  with 
gold.  Floor  and  wall  were  no  longer  logs  gnarled  and 
stained :  upon  the  one  lay  a  carpet  of  delicate  ferns 
and  aromatic  leaves,  and  glossy  vines,  purple-berried, 
tapestried  the  other.  Flowers  —  purple  and  red  and 
yellow  —  were  everywhere.  As  we  entered,  a  figure 
started  up  from  the  hearth. 

"  St.  George  !  "  exclaimed  Rolfe.  "  You  have  never 
married  a  blackamoor  ?  " 

"  It  is  the  negress,  Angela,"  I  said.  "  I  bought 
her  from  William  Pierce  the  other  day.  Mistress 
Percy  wished  a  waiting  damsel." 

The  creature,  one  of  the  five  females  of  her  kind 
then  in  Virginia,  looked  at  us  with  large,  rolling  eyes. 
She  knew  a  little  Spanish,  and  I  spoke  to  her  in  that 
tongue,  bidding  her  find  her  mistress  and  tell  her  that 
company  waited.  When  she  was  gone  I  placed  a  jack 
of  ale  upon  the  table,  and  Rolfe  and  I  sat  down  to 
discuss  it.  Had  I  been  in  a  mood  for  laughter,  I 
could  have  found  reason  in  his  puzzled  face.  There 
were  flowers  upon  the  table,  and  beside  them  a  litter 
of  small  objects,  one  of  which  he  now  took  up. 

"  A  white  glove,"  he  said,  "  perfumed  and  silver- 
fringed,  and  of  a  size  to  fit  Titania." 

I  spread  its  mate  out  upon  my  palm.  "  A  woman's 
hand.  Too  white,  too  soft,  and  too  small." 

He  touched  lightly,  one  by  one,  the  slender  fingers 
of  the  glove  he  held.  "  A  woman's  hand,  —  strength 
in  weakness,  veiled  power,  the  star  in  the  mist,  guid 
ing,  beckoning,  drawing  upward  !  " 


IN  WHICH  A  WOMAN  HAS   HER  WAY        41 

I  laughed  and  threw  the  glove  from  me.  "  The 
star,  a  will-of-the-wisp ;  the  goal,  a  slough,"  I  said. 

As  he  sat  opposite  me  a  change  came  over  his  face, 
—  a  change  so  great  that  I  knew  before  I  turned  that 
she  was  in  the  room. 

The  bundle  which  I  had  carried  for  her  from  James 
town  was  neither  small  nor  light.  Why,  when  she 
fled,  she  chose  to  burden  herself  with  such  toys,  or 
whether  she  gave  a  thought  to  the  suspicions  that 
might  be  raised  in  Virginia  if  one  of  Sir  Edwyn's 
maids  bedecked  herself  in  silk  and  lace  and  jewels,  I 
do  not  know,  but  she  had  brought  to  the  forest  and 
the  tobacco  fields  the  gauds  of  a  maid  of  honor.  The 
Puritan  dress  in  which  I  first  saw  her  was  a  thing  of 
the  past ;  she  clothed  herself  now  like  the  parrakeets 
in  the  forest,  —  or  liker  the  lilies  of  the  field,  for  ver 
ily  she  toiled  not,  neither  did  she  spin. 

Rolfe  and  I  rose  from  our  seats.  "  Mistress  Percy," 
I  said,  "  let  me  present  to  you  a  right  worthy  gen 
tleman  and  my  very  good  friend,  Master  John 
Rolfe." 

She  curtsied,  and  he  bowed  low.  He  was  a  man  of 
quick  wit  and  had  been  at  court,  but  for  a  time  he 
could  find  no  words.  Then  :  "  Mistress  Percy's  face 
is  not  one  to  be  forgotten.  I  have  surely  seen  it 
before,  though  where  "  — 

Her  color  mounted,  but  she  answered  him  indiffer 
ently  enough.  "  Probably  in  London,  amongst  the 
spectators  of  some  pageant  arranged  in  honor  of  the 
princess,  your  wife,  sir,"  she  said  carelessly.  "  I  had 
twice  the  fortune  to  see  the  Lady  Rebekah  passing 
through  the  streets." 

"  Not  in  the  streets  only,"  he  said  courteously.  "  I 
remember  now  :  't  was  at  my  lord  bishop's  dinner. 


42  TO  HAVE   AND  TO  HOLD 

A  very  courtly  company  it  was.  You  were  laugh 
ing  with  my  Lord  Rich.  You  wore  pearls  in  your 
hair"  — 

She  met  his  gaze  fully  and  boldly.  "  Memory  plays 
us  strange  tricks  at  times,"  she  told  him  in  a  clear, 
slightly  raised  voice,  "  and  it  hath  been  three  years 
since  Master  Rolfe  and  his  Indian  princess  were  in 
London.  His  memory  hath  played  him  false." 

She  took  her  seat  in  the  great  chair  which  stood  in 
the  centre  of  the  room,  bathed  in  the  sunlight,  and  the 
negress  brought  a  cushion  for  her  feet.  It  was  not 
until  this  was  done,  and  until  she  had  resigned  her 
fan  to  the  slave,  who  stood  behind  her  slowly  waving 
the  plumed  toy  to  and  fro,  that  she  turned  her  lovely 
face  upon  us  and  bade  us  be  seated. 

An  hour  later  a  whippoorwill  uttered  its  cry  close 
to  the  window,  through  which  now  shone  the  crescent 
moon.  Rolfe  started  up.  "  Beshrew  me !  but  I  had 
forgot  that  I  am  to  sleep  at  Chaplain's  to-night.  I 
must  hurry  on." 

I  rose,  also.  "  You  have  had  no  supper  !  "  I  cried. 
"  I  too  have  forgotten." 

He  shook  his  head.  "  I  cannot  wait.  Moreover,  I 
have  feasted,  —  yea,  and  drunk  deep." 

His  eyes  were  very  bright,  with  an  exaltation  in 
them  as  of  wine.  Mine,  I  felt,  had  the  same  light. 
Indeed,  we  were  both  drunk  with  her  laughter,  her 
beauty,  and  her  wit.  When  he  had  kissed  her  hand, 
and  I  had  followed  him  out  of  the  house  and  down  the 
bank,  he  broke  the  silence. 

"  Why  she  came  to  Virginia  I  do  not  know  "  — 

"  Nor  care  to  ask,"  I  said. 

"Nor  care  to  ask,"  he  repeated,  meeting  my  gaze. 
"  And  I  know  neither  her  name  nor  her  rank.  But 


IN  WHICH  A  WOMAN   HAS   HER  WAY        43 

as  I  stand  here,  Ralph,  I  saw  her,  a  guest,  at  that 
feast  of  which  I  spoke  ;  and  Edwyn  Sandys  picked 
not  his  maids  from  such  assemblies." 

I  stopped  him  with  my  hand  upon  his  shoulder. 
"  She  is  one  of  Sandys'  maids,"  I  asserted,  with  delib 
eration,  "  a  waiting  damsel  who  wearied  of  service  and 
came  to  Virginia  to  better  herself.  She  was  landed 
with  her  mates  at  Jamestown  a  week  or  more  agone, 
went  with  them  to  church  and  thence  to  the  courting 
meadow,  where  she  and  Captain  Ralph  Percy,  a  gen 
tleman  adventurer,  so  pleased  each  other  that  they 
were  married  forthwith.  That  same  day  he  brought 
her  to  his  house,  where  she  now  abides,  his  wife,  and 
as  such  to  be  honored  by  those  who  call  themselves  his 
friends.  And  she  is  not  to  be  lightly  spoken  of,  nor 
comment  passed  upon  her  grace,  beauty,  and  bearing 
(something  too  great  for  her  station,  I  admit),  lest 
idle  tales  should  get  abroad." 

"Am  I  not  thy  friend,  Ralph?"  he  asked  with 
smiling  eyes. 

"  I  have  thought  so  at  times,"  I  answered. 

"  My  friend's  honor  is  my  honor,"  he  went  on. 
"  Where  his  lips  are  sealed  mine  open  not.  Art  con 
tent?" 

"  Content,"  I  said,  and  pressed  the  hand  he  held 
out  to  me. 

We  reached  the  steps  of  the  wharf,  and  descending 
them  he  entered  his  barge,  rocking  lazily  with  the 
advancing  tide.  His  rowers  cast  loose  from  the 
piles,  and  the  black  water  slowly  widened  between  us. 
From  over  my  shoulder  came  a  sudden  bright  gleam 
of  light  from  the  house  above,  and  I  knew  that  Mis 
tress  Percy  was  as  usual  wasting  good  pine  knots.  I 
had  a  vision  of  the  many  lights  within,  and  of  the 


44  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

beauty  whom  the  world  called  my  wife,  sitting  erect, 
bathed  in  that  rosy  glow,  in  the  great  armchair,  with 
the  turbaned  negress  behind  her.  I  suppose  Rolfe 
saw  the  same  thing,  for  he  looked  from  the  light  to 
me,  and  I  heard  him  draw  his  breath. 

"  Ralph  Percy,  thou  art  the  very  button  upon  the 
cap  of  Fortune,"  he  said. 

To  myself  my  laugh  sounded  something  of  the  bit 
terest,  but  to  him,  I  presume,  it  vaunted  my  return 
through  the  darkness  to  the  lit  room  and  its  resplend 
ent  pearl.  He  waved  farewell,  and  the  dusk  swal 
lowed  up  him  and  his  boat.  I  went  back  to  the  house 
and  to  her. 

She  was  sitting  as  we  had  left  her,  with  her  small 
feet  crossed  upon  the  cushion  beneath  them,  her  hands 
folded  in  her  silken  lap,  the  air  from  the  waving  fan 
blowing  tendrils  of  her  dark  hair  against  her  delicate 
standing  ruff.  I  went  and  leaned  against  the  window, 
facing  her. 

"  I  have  been  chosen  Burgess  for  this  hundred,"  I 
said  abruptly.  "  The  Assembly  meets  next  week.  I 
must  be  in  Jamestown  then  and  for  some  time  to 


come." 


She  took  the  fan  from  the  negress,  and  waved  it 
lazily  to  and  fro.  "When  do  we  go?"  she  asked  at 
last. 

"  We  !  "  I  answered.    "I  had  thought  to  go  alone." 

The  fan  dropped  to  the  floor,  and  her  eyes  opened 
wide.  "  And  leave  me  here !  "  she  exclaimed.  "  Leave 
me  in  these  woods,  at  the  mercy  of  Indians,  wolves, 
and  your  rabble  of  servants !  " 

I  smiled.  "  We  are  at  peace  with  the  Indians ;  it 
would  be  a  stout  wolf  that  could  leap  this  palisade ; 
and  the  servants  know  their  master  too  well  to  care 


IN  WHICH   A   WOMAN  HAS  HER  WAY        45 

to  offend  their  mistress.  Moreover,  I  would  leave 
Diccon  in  charge." 

"  Diccon !  "  she  cried.  "  The  old  woman  in  the 
kitchen  hath  told  me  tales  of  Diccon  !  Diccon  Bravo ! 
Diccon  Gamester !  Diccon  Cutthroat !  " 

"  Granted,"  I  said.  "But  Diccon  Faithful  as  well. 
I  can  trust  him." 

"  But  I  do  not  trust  him  !  "  she  retorted.  "  And 
I  wish  to  go  to  Jamestown.  This  forest  wearies  me." 
Her  tone  was  imperious. 

"  I  must  think  it  over,"  I  said  coolly.  "  I  may 
take  you,  or  I  may  not.  I  cannot  tell  yet." 

"  But  I  desire  to  go,  sir !  " 

"  And  I  may  desire  you  to  stay." 

"  You  are  a  churl !  " 

I  bowed.     "  I  am  the  man  of  your  choice,  madam." 

She  rose  with  a  stamp  of  her  foot,  and,  turning  her 
back  upon  me,  took  a  flower  from  the  table  and  com 
menced  to  pull  from  it  its  petals.  I  unsheathed  my 
sword,  and,  seating  myself,  began  to  polish  away  a 
speck  of  rust  upon  the  blade.  Ten  minutes  later  I 
looked  up  from  the  task,  to  receive  full  in  my  face 
a  red  rose  tossed  from  the  other  side  of  the  room. 
The  missile  was  followed  by  an  enchanting  burst  of 
laughter. 

"  We  cannot  afford  to  quarrel,  can  we  ? "  cried 
Mistress  Jocelyn  Percy.  "  Life  is  sad  enough  in  this 
solitude  without  that.  Nothing  but  trees  and  water 
all  day  long,  and  not  a  soul  to  speak  to  !  And  I  am 
horribly  afraid  of  the  Indians !  What  if  they  were 
to  kill  me  while  you  were  away  ?  You  know  you 
swore  before  the  minister  to  protect  me.  You  won't 
leave  me  to  the  mercies  of  the  savages,  will  you? 
And  I  may  go  to  Jamestown,  may  n't  I  ?  I  want  to 


46  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

go  to  church.  I  want  to  go  to  the  Governor's  house. 
I  want  to  buy  a  many  things.  I  have  gold  in  plenty, 
and  but  this  one  decent  dress.  You  '11  take  me  with 
you,  won't  you?  " 

"There's  not  your  like  in  Virginia,"  I  told  her. 
"  If  you  go  to  town  clad  like  that  and  with  that  bear 
ing,  there  will  be  talk  enough.  And  ships  come  and 
go,  and  there  are  those  besides  Rolfe  who  have  been 
to  London." 

For  a  moment  the  laughter  died  from  her  eyes  and 
lips,  but  it  returned.  "  Let  them  talk,"  she  said. 
"  What  care  I?  And  I  do  not  think  your  ship  cap 
tains,  your  traders  and  adventurers,  do  often  dine 
with  my  lord  bishop.  This  barbarous  forest  world 
and  another  world  that  I  wot  of  are  so  far  apart  that 
the  inhabitants  of  the  one  do  not  trouble  those  of  the 
other.  In  that  petty  village  down  there  I  am  safe 
enough.  Besides,  sir,  you  wear  a  sword." 

"  My  sword  is  ever  at  your  service,  madam." 

"  Then  I  may  go  to  Jamestown  ?  " 

"  If  you  will  it  so." 

With  her  bright  eyes  upon  me,  and  with  one  hand 
softly  striking  a  rose  against  her  laughing  lips,  she 
extended  the  other  hand. 

"  You  may  kiss  it,  if  you  wish,  sir,"  she  said  de 
murely. 

I  knelt  and  kissed  the  white  fingers,  and  four  days 
later  we  went  to  Jamestown. 


CHAPTER    VI 
IN   WHICH   WE   GO   TO   JAMESTOWN 

IT  was  early  morning  when  we  set  out  on  horse 
back  for  Jamestown.  I  rode  in  front,  with  Mistress 
Percy  upon  a  pillion  behind  me,  and  Diccon  on  the 
brown  mare  brought  up  the  rear.  The  negress  and 
the  mails  I  had  sent  by  boat. 

Now,  a  ride  through  the  green  wood  with  a  noble 
horse  beneath  you,  and  around  you  the  freshness  of 
the  morn,  is  pleasant  enough.  Each  twig  had  its 
row  of  diamonds,  and  the  wet  leaves  that  we  pushed 
aside  spilled  gems  upon  us.  The  horses  set  their 
hoofs  daintily  upon  fern  and  moss  and  lush  grass.  In 
the  purple  distances  deer  stood  at  gaze,  the  air  rang 
with  innumerable  bird  notes,  clear  and  sweet,  squir 
rels  chattered,  bees  hummed,  and  through  the  thick 
leafy  roof  of  the  forest  the  sun  showered  gold  dust. 
And  Mistress  Jocelyn  Percy  was  as  merry  as  the 
morning.  It  was  now  fourteen  days  since  she  and  I 
had  first  met,  and  in  that  time  I  had  found  in  her 
thrice  that  number  of  moods.  She  could  be  as  gay 
and  sweet  as  the  morning,  as  dark  and  vengeful  as  the 
storms  that  came  up  of  afternoons,  pensive  as  the 
twilight,  stately  as  the  night,  —  in  her  there  met  a 
hundred  minds.  Also  she  could  be  childishly  frank 
—  and  tell  you  nothing. 

To-day  she  chose  to  be  gracious.     Ten  times  in  an 
hour  Diccon  was  off  his  horse  to  pluck  this  or  that 


48  TO   HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

flower  that  her  white  forefinger  pointed  out.  She  wove 
the  blooms  into  a  chaplet,  and  placed  it  upon  her 
head ;  she  filled  her  lap  with  trailers  of  the  vine  that 
swayed  against  us,  and  stained  her  fingers  and  lips 
with  the  berries  Diccon  brought  her  ;  she  laughed  at 
the  squirrels,  at  the  scurrying  partridges,  at  the  tur 
keys  that  crossed  our  path,  at  the  fish  that  leaped 
from  the  brooks,  at  old  Jocomb  and  his  sons  who  fer 
ried  us  across  the  Chickahominy.  She  was  curious 
concerning  the  musket  I  carried ;  and  when,  in  an 
open  space  in  the  wood,  we  saw  an  eagle  perched  upon 
a  blasted  pine,  she  demanded  my  pistol.  I  took  it 
from  my  belt  and  gave  it  to  her,  with  a  laugh.  "  I 
will  eat  all  of  your  killing,"  I  said. 

She  aimed  the  weapon.  "  A  wager  !  "  she  declared. 
"  There  be  mercers  in  Jamestown  ?  If  I  hit,  thou  'It 
buy  me  a  pearl  hatband  ?  " 

"Two." 

She  fired,  and  the  bird  rose  with  a  scream  of  wrath 
and  sailed  away.  But  two  or  three  feathers  came  float 
ing  to  the  ground,  and  when  Diccon  had  brought  them 
to  her  she  pointed  triumphantly  to  the  blood  upon 
them.  "  You  said  two !  "  she  cried. 

The  sun  rose  higher,  and  the  heat  of  the  day  set  in. 
Mistress  Percy's  interest  in  forest  bloom  and  creature 
flagged.  Instead  of  laughter,  we  had  sighs  at  the 
length  of  way ;  the  vines  slid  from  her  lap,  and  she 
took  the  faded  flowers  from  her  head  and  cast  them 
aside.  She  talked  no  more,  and  by  and  by  I  felt  her 
head  droop  against  my  shoulder. 

"  Madam  is  asleep,"  said  Diccon's  voice  behind  me. 

"  Ay,"  I  answered.  "  She  '11  find  a  jack  of  mail 
but  a  hard  pillow.  And  look  to  her  that  she  does  not 
fall." 


IN  WHICH  WE  GO  TO  JAMESTOWN  49 

"  I  had  best  walk  beside  you,  then,"  he  said. 

I  nodded,  and  he  dismounted,  and  throwing  the 
mare's  bridle  over  his  arm  strode  on  beside  us,  with 
his  hand  upon  the  frame  of  the  pillion.  Ten  minutes 
passed,  the  last  five  of  which  I  rode  with  my  face  over 
my  shoulder.  "  Diccon  !  "  I  cried  at  last,  sharply. 

He  came  to  his  senses  with  a  start.  "  Ay,  sir  ?  "  he 
questioned,  his  face  dark  red. 

"  Suppose  you  look  at  me  for  a  change,"  I  said. 
"  How  long  since  Dale  came  in,  Diccon  ?  " 

"  Ten  years,  sir." 

"  Before  we  enter  Jamestown  we  '11  pass  through 
a  certain  field  and  beneath  a  certain  tree.  Do  you 
remember  what  happened  there,  some  years  ago  ?  " 

"  I  am  not  like  to  forget,  sir.  You  saved  me  from 
the  wheel." 

"  Upon  which  you  were  bound,  ready  to  be  broken 
for  drunkenness,  gaming,  and  loose  living.  I  begged 
your  life  from  Dale  for  no  other  reason,  I  think,  than 
that  you  had  been  a  horse-boy  in  my  old  company  in 
the  Low  Countries.  God  wot,  the  life  was  scarcely 
worth  the  saving !  " 

"  I  know  it,  sir." 

"  Dale  would  not  let  you  go  scot-free,  but  would 
sell  you  into  slavery.  At  your  own  entreaty  I  bought 
you,  since  when  you  have  served  me  indifferently  well. 
You  have  showed  small  penitence  for  past  misdeeds, 
and  your  amendment  hath  been  of  yet  lesser  bulk. 
A  hardy  rogue  thou  wast  born,  and  a  rogue  thou  wilt 
remain  to  the  end  of  time.  But  we  have  lived  and 
hunted,  fought  and  bled  together,  and  in  our  own 
fashion  I  think  we  bear  each  other  good  will,  —  even 
some  love.  I  have  winked  at  much,  have  shielded 
you  in  much,  perhaps.  In  return  I  have  demanded 


50  TO   HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

one  thing,  which  if  you  had  not  given  I  would  have 
found  you  another  Dale  to  deal  with." 

"  Have  I  ever  refused  it,  my  captain  ?  " 

"  Not  yet.  Take  your  hand  from  that  pillion  and 
hold  it  up  ;  then  say  after  me  these  words  :  '  This 
lady  is  my  mistress,  my  master's  wife,  to  be  by  me 
reverenced  as  such.  Her  face  is  not  for  my  eyes  nor 
her  hand  for  my  lips.  If  I  keep  not  myself  clean  of 
all  offense  toward  her,  may  God  approve  that  which 
my  master  shall  do  !  ' : 

The  blood  rushed  to  his  face.  I  watched  his  fingers 
slowly  loosening  their  grasp. 

"  Tardy  obedience  is  of  the  house  of  mutiny,"  I 
said  sternly.  "  Will  you,  sirrah,  or  will  you  not?  " 

He  raised  his  hand  and  repeated  the  words. 

"  Now  hold  her  as  before,"  I  ordered,  and,  straight 
ening  myself  in  the  saddle,  rode  on,  with  my  eyes 
once  more  on  the  path  before  me. 

A  mile  further  on,  Mistress  Percy  stirred  and  raised 
her  head  from  my  shoulder.  "  Not  at  Jamestown 
yet?  "  she  sighed,  as  yet  but  half  awake.  "  Oh,  the 
endless  trees !  I  dreamed  I  was  hawking  at  Windsor, 
and  then  suddenly  I  was  here  in  this  forest,  a  bird, 
happy  because  I  was  free  ;  and  then  a  falcon  came 
swooping  down  upon  me,  —  it  had  me  in  its  talons, 
and  I  changed  to  myself  again,  and  it  changed  to  — 
What  am  I  saying?  I  am  talking  in  my  sleep.  Who 
is  that  singing?  " 

In  fact,  from  the  woods  in  front  of  us,  and  not  a 
bowshot  away,  rang  out  a  powerful  voice :  — 

"  '  In  the  merry  month  of  May, 
In  a  morn  by  break  of  day, 
With  a  troop  of  damsels  playing" 
Forth  I  went,  forsooth,  a-maying  ; '  ' 


IN   WHICH  WE  GO  TO  JAMESTOWN  51 

and  presently,  the  trees  thinning  in  front  of  us,  we 
came  upon  a  little  open  glade  and  upon  the  singer. 
He  lay  on  his  back,  on  the  soft  turf  beneath  an  oak, 
with  his  hands  clasped  behind  his  head  and  his  eyes 
upturned  to  the  blue  sky  showing  between  leaf  and 
branch.  On  one  knee  crossed  above  the  other  sat  a 
squirrel  with  a  nut  in  its  paws,  and  half  a  dozen 
others  scampered  here  and  there  over  his  great  body, 
like  so  many  frolicsome  kittens.  At  a  little  distance 
grazed  an  old  horse,  gray  and  gaunt,  springhalt  and 
spavined,  with  ribs  like  Death's  own.  Its  saddle  and 
bridle  adorned  a  limb  of  the  oak. 
The  song  went  cheerfully  on  :  — 

"  '  Much  ado  there  was,  God  wot : 
He  would  love  and  she  would  not ; 
She  said,  "  Never  man  was  true." 
He  said,  "  None  was  false  to  you."  '  " 

"Give  you  good -day,  reverend  sir !  "  I  called. 
"  Art  conning  next  Sunday's  hymn  ?  " 

Nothing  abashed,  Master  Jeremy  Sparrow  gently 
shook  off  the  squirrels,  and  getting  to  his  feet  ad 
vanced  to  meet  us. 

"  A  toy,"  he  declared,  with  a  wave  of  his  hand,  "  a 
trifle,  a  silly  old  song  that  came  into  my  mind  un 
awares,  the  leaves  being  so  green  and  the  sky  so  blue. 
Had  you  come  a  little  earlier  or  a  little  later,  you 
would  have  heard  the  ninetieth  psalm.  Give  you 
good-day,  madam.  I  must  have  sung  for  that  the 
very  queen  of  May  was  coming  by." 

"  Art  on  your  way  to  Jamestown  ?  "  I  demanded. 
"  Come  ride  with  us.  Diccon,  saddle  his  reverence's 
horse." 

"  Saddle  him  an  thou  wilt,  friend,"  said  Master 
Sparrow,  "  for  he  and  I  have  idled  long  enough,  but 


52  TO   HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

I  fear  I  cannot  keep  pace  with  this  fair  company.     I 
and  the  horse  are  footing  it  together." 

"  He  is  not  long  for  this  world,"  I  remarked,  eyeing 
his  ill-favored  steed,  "  but  neither  are  we  far  from 
Jamestown.  He  '11  last  that  far." 

Master  Sparrow  shook  his  head,  with  a  rueful 
countenance.  "  I  bought  him  from  one  of  the  French 
vignerons  below  Westover,"  he  said.  "  The  fellow 
was  astride  the  poor  creature,  beating  him  with  a 
club  because  he  could  not  go.  I  laid  Monsieur  Cra- 
paud  in  the  dust,  after  which  we  compounded,  he  for 
my  purse,  I  for  the  animal ;  since  when  the  poor  beast 
and  I  have  tramped  it  together,  for  I  could  not  in 
conscience  ride  him.  Have  you  read  me  ^Esop  his 
fables,  Captain  Percy?" 

"  I  remember  the  man,  the  boy,  and  the  ass,"  I  re 
plied.  "  The  ass  came  to  grief  in  the  end.  Put  thy 
scruples  in  thy  pocket,  man,  and  mount  thy  pale 
horse." 

"  Not  I !  "  he  said,  with  a  smile.  "  'T  is  a  thousand 
pities,  Captain  Percy,  that  a  small,  mean,  and  squeam 
ish  spirit  like  mine  should  be  cased  like  a  very  Guy 
of  Warwick.  Now,  if  I  were  slight  of  body,  or  even 
if  I  were  no  heavier  than  your  servant  there  "  — 

"  Oh !  "  I  said.  "  Diccon,  give  his  reverence  the 
mare,  and  do  you  mount  his  horse  and  bring  him 
slowly  011  to  town.  If  he  will  not  carry  you,  you  can 
lead  him  in." 

Sunshine  revisited  the  countenance  of  Master  Jer 
emy  Sparrow;  he  swung  his  great  body  into  the 
saddle,  gathered  up  the  reins,  and  made  the  mare  to 
caracole  across  the  path  for  very  joy. 

"  Have  a  care  of  the  poor  brute,  friend !  "  he  cried 
genially  to  Diccon,  whose  looks  were  of  the  sulkiest. 


IN  WHICH  WE  GO   TO  JAMESTOWN  53 

"  Bring  him  gently  on,  and  leave  him  at  Master 
Bucke's,  near  to  the  church." 

"  What  do  you  do  at  Jamestown  ?  "  I  asked,  as  we 
passed  from  out  the  glade  into  the  gloom  of  a  pine 
wood.  "  I  was  told  that  you  were  gone  to  Henricus, 
to  help  Master  Thorpe  convert  the  Indians." 

"  Ay,"  he  answered,  "  I  did  go.  I  had  a  call,  —  I 
was  sure  I  had  a  call.  I  thought  of  myself  as  a  very 
apostle  to  the  Gentiles.  I  went  from  Henricus  one 
day's  journey  into  the  wilderness,  with  none  but  an 
Indian  lad  for  interpreter,  and  coming  to  an  Indian 
village  gathered  its  inhabitants  about  me,  and  sitting 
down  upon  a  hillock  read  and  expounded  to  them  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount.  I  was  much  edified  by  the 
solemnity  of  their  demeanor  and  the  earnestness  of 
their  attention,  and  had  conceived  great  hopes  for 
their  spiritual  welfare,  when,  the  reading  and  exhorta 
tion  being  finished,  one  of  their  old  men  arose  and 
made  me  a  long  speech,  which  I  could  not  well  under 
stand,  but  took  to  be  one  of  grateful  welcome  to  my 
self  and  my  tidings  of  peace  and  good  will.  He  then 
desired  me  to  tarry  with  them,  and  to  be  present  at  some 
entertainment  or  other,  the  nature  of  which  I  could 
not  make  out.  I  tarried ;  and  toward  evening  they 
conducted  me  with  much  ceremony  to  an  open  space 
in  the  midst  of  the  village.  There  I  found  planted 
in  the  ground  a  thick  stake,  and  around  it  a  ring  of 
flaming  brushwood.  To  the  stake  was  fastened  an 
Indian  warrior,  captured,  so  my  interpreter  informed 
me,  from  some  hostile  tribe  above  the  falls.  His  arms 
and  ankles  were  secured  to  the  stake  by  means  of 
thongs  passed  through  incisions  in  the  flesh  ;  his  body 
was  stuck  over  with  countless  pine  splinters,  each 
burning  like  a  miniature  torch;  and  on  his  shaven 


54  TO  HAVE  AND  TO   HOLD 

crown  was  tied  a  thin  plate  of  copper  heaped  with 
red-hot  coals.  A  little  to  one  side  appeared  another 
stake  and  another  circle  of  brushwood :  the  one  with 
nothing  tied  to  it  as  yet,  and  the  other  still  unlit. 
My  friend,  I  did  not  tarry  to  see  it  lit.  I  tore  a  branch 
from  an  oak,  and  I  became  as  Samson  with  the  jaw 
bone  of  the  ass.  I  fell  upon  and  smote  those  Philis 
tines.  Their  wretched  victim  was  beyond  all  human 
help,  but  I  dearly  avenged  him  upon  his  enemies. 
And  they  had  their  pains  for  naught  when  they 
planted  that  second  stake  and  laid  the  brush  for  their 
hell  fire.  At  last  I  dropped  into  the  stream  upon 
which  their  damnable  village  was  situate,  and  got 
safely  away.  Next  day  I  went  to  George  Thorpe  and 
resigned  my  ministry,  telling  him  that  we  were  no 
where  commanded  to  preach  to  devils  ;  when  the  Com 
pany  was  ready  to  send  shot  and  steel  amongst  them, 
they  might  count  upon  me.  After  which  I  came  down 
the  river  to  Jamestown,  where  I  found  worthy  Master 
Bucke  well-nigh  despaired  of  with  the  fever.  Finally 
he  was  taken  up  river  for  change  of  air,  and,  for  lack 
of  worthier  substitute,  the  Governor  and  Captain  West 
constrained  me  to  remain  and  minister  to  the  shep- 
herdless  flock.  Where  will  you  lodge,  good  sir  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  know,"  I  said.  "  The  town  will  be  full, 
and  the  guest  house  is  not  yet  finished." 

"  Why  not  come  to  me  ?  "  he  asked.  "  There  are 
none  in  the  minister's  house  but  me  and  Goodwife 
Allen  who  keeps  it.  There  are  five  fair  large  rooms 
and  a  goodly  garden,  though  the  trees  do  too  much 
shadow  the  house.  If  you  will  come  and  let  the  sun 
shine  in,"  —  a  bow  and  smile  for  madam,  —  "I  shall 
be  your  debtor." 

His  plan  pleased  me  well.     Except  the  Governor's 


IN  WHICH  WE  GO  TO  JAMESTOWN  55 

and  Captain  West's,  the  minister's  house  was  the  best 
in  the  town.  It  was  retired,  too,  being  set  in  its 
own  grounds,  and  not  upon  the  street,  and  I  desired 
privacy.  Goodwife  Allen  was  stolid  and  incurious. 
Moreover,  I  liked  Master  Jeremy  Sparrow. 

I  accepted  his  hospitality  and  gave  him  thanks. 
He  waved  them  away,  and  fell  to  complimenting  Mis 
tress  Percy,  who  was  pleased  to  be  gracious  to  us 
both.  Well  content  for  the  moment  with  the  world 
and  ourselves,  we  fared  on  through  the  alternating 
sunshine  and  shade,  and  were  happy  with  the  careless 
inhabitants  of  the  forest.  Over  soon  we  came  to  the 
peninsula,  and  crossed  the  neck  of  land.  Before  us 
lay  the  town :  to  the  outer  eye  a  poor  and  mean  vil 
lage,  indeed,  but  to  the  inner  (the  stronghold  and  capi 
tal  of  our  race  in  the  western  world,  the  germ  from 
which  might  spring  stately  cities,  the  newborn  babe 
which  might  in  time  equal  its  parent  in  stature, 
strength,  and  comeliness.  So  I  and  a  few  besides, 
both  in  Virginia  and  at  home,  viewed  the  mean 
houses,  the  poor  church  and  rude  fort,  and  loved  the 
spot  which  had  witnessed  much  suffering  and  small 
joy,  but  which  held  within  it  the  future,  which  was 
even  now  a  bit  in  the  mouth  of  Spain,  a  thing  in  it 
self  outweighing  all  the  toil  and  anguish  of  our  plant 
ing.  But  there  were  others  who  saw  only  the  mean 
ness  of  the  place,  its  almost  defenselessness,  its  fluxes 
and  fevers,  the  fewness  of  its  inhabitants  and  the 
number  of  its  graves.  Finding  no  gold  and  no  earthly 
paradise,  and  that  in  the  sweat  of  their  brow  they 
must  eat  their  bread,  they  straightway  fell  into  the 
dumps,  and  either  died  out  of  sheer  perversity,  or 
went  yelping  home  to  the  Company  with  all  manner 
of  dismal  tales,  —  which  tales,  through  my  Lord  War- 


56  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

wick's  good  offices,  never  failed  to  reach  the  sacred 
ears  of  his  Majesty,  and  to  bring  the  colony  and  the 
Company  into  disfavor. 

We  came  to  the  palisade,  and  found  the  gates  wide 
open  and  the  warder  gone. 

"  Where  be  the  people  ?  "  marveled  Master  Spar 
row,  as  we  rode  through  into  the  street.  In  truth, 
where  were  the  people  ?  On  either  side  of  the  street 
the  doors  of  the  houses  stood  open,  but  no  person 
looked  out  from  them  or  loitered  on  the  doorsteps ; 
the  square  was  empty ;  there  were  no  women  at  the 
well,  no  children  underfoot,  no  gaping  crowd  before 
gaol  and  pillory,  no  guard  before  the  Governor's 
house,  —  not  a  soul,  high  or  low,  to  be  seen. 

"  Have  they  all  migrated  ?  "  cried  Sparrow.  "  Are 
they  gone  to  Croatan  ?  " 

"  They  have  left  one  to  tell  the  tale,  then,"  I  said, 
"  for  here  he  comes  running." 


CHAPTER   VII 

IN   WHICH   WE   PREPARE   TO    FIGHT   THE   SPANIARD 

A  MAN  came  panting  down  the  street.  "  Captain 
Ralph  Percy !  "  he  cried.  "  My  master  said  it  was 
your  horse  coming  across  the  neck.  The  Governor 
commands  your  attendance  at  once,  sir." 

"  Where  is  the  Governor  ?  Where  are  all  the  peo 
ple  ?  "  I  demanded. 

"  At  the  fort.  They  are  all  at  the  fort  or  on  the 
bank  below.  Oh,  sirs,  a  woeful  day  for  us  all !  " 

"  A  woeful  day !  "  I  exclaimed.  "  What 's  the 
matter  ?  " 

The  man,  whom  I  recognized  as  one  of  the  com 
mander's  servants,  a  fellow  with  the  soul  of  a  French 
valet  de  chambre,  was  wild  with  terror. 

"  They  are  at  the  guns  !  "  he  quavered.  "  Alacka- 
day !  what  can  a  few  sakers  and  demiculverins  do 
against  them  ?  " 

"  Against  whom  ?  "  I  cried. 

"  They  are  giving  out  pikes  and  cutlasses !  Woe 's 
me,  the  sight  of  naked  steel  hath  ever  made  me 
sick!" 

I  drew  my  dagger,  and  flashed  it  before  him. 
"  Does  't  make  you  sick  ?  "  I  asked.  "  You  shall  be 
sicker  yet,  if  you  do  not  speak  to  some  purpose." 

The  fellow  shrank  back,  his  eyeballs  starting  from 
his  head. 

"  It 's  a  tall  ship,"  he  gasped,  "  a  very  big  ship ! 


68  TO  HAVE  AND  TO   HOLD 

It  hath  ten  culverins,  beside  fowlers  and  murderers, 
sakers,  falcons,  and  bases  !  " 

I  took  him  by  the  collar  and  shook  him  off  his  feet. 

"  There  are  priests  on  board  !  "  he  managed  to  say 
as  I  set  him  down.  "  This  time  to-morrrow  we  '11 
all  be  on  the  rack  !  And  next  week  the  galleys  will 
have  us ! " 

"  It 's  the  Spaniard  at  last,"  I  said.     "  Come  on  !  " 

When  we  reached  the  river  bank  before  the  fort,  it 
was  to  find  confusion  worse  confounded.  The  gates 
of  the  palisade  were  open,  and  through  them  streamed 
Councilors,  Burgesses,  and  officers,  while  the  bank 
itself  was  thronged  with  the  generality.  Ancient 
planters,  Smith's  men,  Dale's  men,  tenants  and  ser 
vants,  women  and  children,  including  the  little  eyases 
we  imported  the  year  before,  negroes,  Paspaheghs, 
French  vignerons,  Dutch  sawmill  men,  Italian  glass- 
workers,  —  all  seethed  to  and  fro,  all  talked  at  once, 
and  all  looked  down  the  river.  Out  of  the  babel  of 
voices  these  words  came  to  us  over  and  over :  "  The 
Spaniard!"  "The  Inquisition!"  "The  galleys?" 
They  were  the  words  oftenest  heard  at  that  time, 
when  strange  sails  hove  in  sight. 

But  where  was  the  Spaniard?  On  the  river,  hug 
ging  the  shore,  were  many  small  craft,  barges,  shallops, 
sloops,  and  pinnaces,  and  beyond  them  the  masts  of 
the  Truelove,  the  Due  Keturn,  and  the  Tiger,  then  in 
port ;  on  these  three,  of  which  the  largest,  the  Due 
Return,  was  of  but  eighty  tons  burthen,  the  mariners 
were  running  about  and  the  masters  bawling  orders. 
But  there  was  no  other  ship,  no  bark,  galleon,  or  man- 
of-war,  with  three  tiers  of  grinning  ordnance,  and  the 
hated  yellow  flag  flaunting  above. 

I  sprang  from  my  horse,  and,  leaving  it  and  Mis- 


WE  PREPARE  TO  FIGHT  THE  SPANIARD      59 

tress  Percy  in  Sparrow's  charge,  hastened  up  to  the 
fort.  As  I  passed  through  the  palisade  I  heard  my 
name  called,  and  turning  waited  for  Master  Pory  to 
come  up.  He  was  panting  and  puffing,  his  jovial  face 
very  red. 

"  I  was  across  the  neck  of  land  when  I  heard  the 
news,"  he  said.  "  I  ran  all  the  way,  and  am  some 
what  scant  of  breath.  Here  's  the  devil  to  pay !  " 

"It  looks  another  mare's-nest,"  I  replied.  "We 
have  cried  4  Spaniard  ! '  pretty  often." 

"  But  this  time  the  wolf  's  here,"  he  answered.  "  Da- 
vies  sent  a  horseman  at  a  gallop  from  Algernon  with 
the  tidings.  He  passed  the  ship,  and  it  was  a  very 
great  one.  We  may  thank  this  dead  calm  that  it  did 
not  catch  us  unawares." 

Within  the  palisade  was  noise  enough,  but  more 
order  than  without.  On  the  half -moons  command 
ing  the  river,  gunners  were  busy  about  our  sakers, 
falcons,  and  three  culverins.  In  one  place,  West,  the 
commander,  was  giving  out  brigandines,  jacks,  skulls, 
muskets,  halberds,  swords,  and  longbows ;  in  another, 
his  wife,  who  was  a  very  Mary  Ambree,  supervised 
the  boiling  of  a  great  caldron  of  pitch.  Each  loop 
hole  in  palisade  and  fort  had  already  its  marksman. 
Through  the  west  port  came  a  horde  of  reluctant  in 
vaders,  —  cattle,  swine,  and  poultry,  —  driven  in  by 
yelling  boys. 

I  made  my  way  through  the  press  to  where  I  saw 
the  Governor,  surrounded  by  Councilors  and  Bur 
gesses,  sitting  on  a  keg  of  powder,  and  issuing  orders 
at  the  top  of  his  voice.  "  Ha,  Captain  Percy !  "  he 
cried,  as  I  came  up.  "  You  are  in  good  time,  man ! 
You  've  served  your  apprenticeship  at  the  wars.  You 
must  teach  us  how  to  beat  the  dons." 


60  TO   HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

"  To  Englishmen,  that  conies  by  nature,  sir,"  I  said. 
"  Art  sure  we  are  to  have  the  pleasure  ?  " 

"  Not  a  doubt  of  it  this  time,"  he  answered.  "  The 
ship  slipped  in  past  the  Point  last  night.  Davies 
signaled  her  to  stop,  and  then  sent  a  ball  over  her ; 
but  she  kept  on.  True,  it  was  too  dark  to  make  out 
much ;  but  if  she  were  friendly,  why  did  she  not  stop 
for  castle  duties  ?  Moreover,  they  say  she  was  of  at 
least  five  hundred  tons,  and  no  ship  of  that  size  hath 
ever  visited  these  waters.  There  was  no  wind,  and 
they  sent  a  man  on  at  once,  hoping  to  outstrip  the 
enemy  and  warn  us.  The  man  changed  horses  at 
Basse's  Choice,  and  passed  the  ship  about  dawn.  All 
he  could  tell  for  the  mist  was  that  it  was  a  very  great 
ship,  with  three  tiers  of  guns." 

"  The  flag  ?  " 

"  She  carried  none." 

"  Humph !  "  I  said.  "  It  hath  a  suspicious  look. 
At  least  we  do  well  to  be  ready.  We  11  give  them  a 
warm  welcome." 

"  There  are  those  here  who  counsel  surrender,"  con 
tinued  the  Governor.  "  There  's  one,  at  least,  who 
wants  the  Tiger  sent  downstream  with  a  white  flag 
and  my  sword." 

"  Where  ?  "  I  cried.     "  He 's  no  Englishman,  I  war- 

rant!" 

"  As  much  an  Englishman  as  thou,  sir !  "  called  out 
a  gentleman  whom  I  had  encountered  before,  to  wit, 
Master  Edward  Sharpless.  "It's  well  enough  for 
swingebuckler  captains,  Low  Country  fire-eaters,  to 
talk  of  holding  out  againt  a  Spanish  man-of-war  with 
twice  our  number  of  fighting  men,  and  enough  ord 
nance  to  batter  the  town  out  of  existence.  Wise  men 
know  when  the  odds  are  too  heavy !  " 


WE  PREPARE  TO  FIGHT  THE  SPANIARD      61 

"  It 's  well  enough  for  lily-livered,  goose-fleshed  law 
yers  to  hold  their  tongues  when  men  and  soldiers 
talk,"  I  retorted.  "  We  are  not  making  indentures 
to  the  devil,  and  so  have  no  need  of  such  gentry." 

There  was  a  roar  of  laughter  from  the  captains  and 
gunners,  but  terror  of  the  Spaniard  had  made  Master 
Edward  Sharpless  bold  to  all  besides. 

"  They  will  wipe  us  off  the  face  of  the  earth !  "  he 
lamented.  "  There  won't  be  an  Englishman  left  in 
America  !  They  '11  come  close  in  upon  us !  They  '11 
batter  down  the  fort  with  their  culverins ;  they  '11  turn 
all  their  swivels,  sakers,  and  falcons  upon  us ;  they  '11 
throw  into  our  midst  stinkpots  and  grenades ;  they  '11 
mow  us  down  with  chain  shot !  Their  gunners  never 
miss !  "  His  voice  rose  to  a  scream,  and  he  shook  as 
with  an  ague.  "  Are  you  mad  ?  It 's  Spain  that 's  to 
be  fought !  Spain  the  rich !  Spain  the  powerful ! 
Spain  the  lord  of  the  New  World !  " 

"  It 's  England  that  fights  !  "  I  cried.  "  For  very 
shame,  hold  thy  tongue  !  " 

"  If  we  surrender  at  once,  they  '11  let  us  go ! "  he 
whined.  "  We  can  take  the  small  boats  and  get  to 
the  Bermudas.  They  '11  let  us  go." 

"  Into  the  galleys,"  muttered  West. 

The  craven  tried  another  feint.  "Think  of  the 
women  and  children  !  " 

"  We  do,"  I  said  sternly.     "  Silence,  fool !  " 

The  Governor,  a  brave  and  honest  man,  rose  from 
the  keg  of  powder.  "  All  this  is  foreign  to  the  mat 
ter,  Master  Sharpless.  I  think  our  duty  is  clear,  be 
the  odds  what  they  may.  This  is  our  post,  and  we  will 
hold  it  or  die  beside  it.  We  are  few  in  number,  but 
we  are  England  in  America,  and  I  think  we  will 
remain  here.  This  is  the  King's  fifth  kingdom,  and 


62  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

we  will  keep  it  for  him.  We  will  trust  in  the  Lord 
and  fight  it  out." 

"  Amen,"  I  said,  and  "  Amen,"  said  the  ring  of 
Councilors  and  Burgesses  and  the  armed  men  beyond. 

The  hum  of  voices  now  rose  into  excited  cries,  and 
the  watchman  stationed  atop  the  big  culverin  called 
out,  "  Sail  ho !  "  With  one  accord  we  turned  our 
faces  downstream.  There  was  the  ship,  undoubtedly. 
Moreover,  a  strong  breeze  had  sprung  up,  blowing 
from  the  sea,  filling  her  white  sails,  and  rapidly  less 
ening  the  distance  between  us.  As  yet  we  could  only 
tell  that  she  was  indeed  a  large  ship  with  all  sail  set. 

Through  the  gates  of  the  palisade  now  came,  pell- 
mell,  the  crowd  without.  In  ten  minutes'  time  the 
women  were  in  line  ready  to  load  the  muskets,  the 
children  sheltered  as  best  they  might  be,  the  men  in 
ranks,  the  gunners  at  their  guns,  and  the  flag  up.  I 
had  run  it  up  with  my  own  hand,  and  as  I  stood  be 
neath  the  folds  Master  Sparrow  and  my  wife  came  to 
my  side. 

"  The  women  are  over  there,"  I  said  to  the  latter, 
"  where  you  had  best  betake  yourself." 

"  I  prefer  to  stay  here,"  she  answered.  "  I  am  not 
afraid."  Her  color  was  high,  and  she  held  her  head 
up.  "  My  father  fought  the  Armada,"  she  said. 
"  Get  me  a  sword  from  that  man  who  is  giving  them 
out." 

From  his  coign  of  vantage  the  watch  now  called 
out :  "  She  's  a  long  ship,  —  five  hundred  tons,  any 
how  !  Lord !  the  metal  that  she  carries !  She 's  rase- 
decked !  " 

"  Then  she 's  Spanish,  sure  enough  ! "  cried  the 
Governor. 

From  the  crowd  of  servants,  felons,  and  foreigners 


WE  PREPARE  TO  FIGHT  THE   SPANIARD      63 

rose  a  great  clamor,  and  presently  we  made  out 
Sharpless  perched  on  a  cask  in  their  midst  and  wildly 
gesticulating. 

"The  Tiger,  the  Truelove,  and  the  Due  Return 
have  swung  across  channel !  "  announced  the  watch. 
"  They  Ve  trained  their  guns  on  the  Spaniard  !  " 

The  Englishmen  cheered,  but  the  bastard  crew  about 
Sharpless  groaned.  Extreme  fear  had  made  the  law 
yer  shameless.  "  What  guns  have  those  boats?"  he 
screamed.  "Two  falcons  apiece  and  a  handful  of 
muskets,  and  they  go  out  against  a  man-of-war ! 
She  '11  trample  them  underfoot !  She  '11  sink  them 
with  a  shot  apiece !  The  Tiger  is  forty  tons,  and  the 
Truelove  is  sixty.  You  're  all  mad  !  " 

"  Sometimes  quality  beats  quantity,"  said  West. 

"  Didst  ever  hear  of  the  Content  ? "  sang  out  a 
gunner. 

"  Or  of  the  Merchant  Royal  ?  "  cried  another. 

"  Or  of  the  Revenge  ?  "  quoth  Master  Jeremy  Spar 
row.  "  Go  hang  thyself,  coward,  or,  if  you  choose, 
swim  out  to  the  Spaniard,  and  shift  from  thy  wet 
doublet  and  hose  into  a  sanbenito.  Let  the  don  come, 
shoot  if  he  can,  and  land  if  he  will !  We  '11  singe  his 
beard  in  Virginia  as  we  did  at  Gales ! 

'  The  great  St.  Philip,  the  pride  of  the  Spaniards, 
Was  burnt  to  the  bottom  and  sunk  in  the  sea. 
But  the  St.  Andrew  and  eke  the  St.  Matthew 
We  took  in  fight  manfully  and  brought  away.' 

And  so  we  '11  do  with  this  one,  my  masters  !  We  '11 
sink  her,  or  we  '11  take  her  and  send  her  against  her 
own  galleons  and  galleasses ! 

'  Dub-a-dub,  dub-a-dub,  thus  strike  their  drums, 
Tantara,  tantara,  the  Englishman  comes  ! '  " 


64  TO  HAVE  AND  TO   HOLD 

His  great  voice  and  great  presence  seized  and  held 
the  attention  of  all.  Over  his  doublet  of  rusty  black 
he  had  clapped  a  yet  rustier  back  and  breast ;  on  his 
bushy  hair  rode  a  headpiece  many  sizes  too  small ;  by 
his  side  was  an  old  broadsword,  and  over  his  shoulder 
a  pike.  Suddenly,  from  gay  hardihood  his  counte 
nance  changed  to  an  expression  more  befitting  his 
calling.  "  Our  cause  is  just,  my  masters  !  "  he  cried. 
"  We  stand  here  not  for  England  alone ;  we  stand  for 
the  love  of  law,  for  the  love  of  liberty,  for  the  fear  of 
God,  who  will  not  desert  his  servants  and  his  cause, 
nor  give  over  to  Anti-Christ  this  virgin  world.  This 
plantation  is  the  leaven  which  is  to  leaven  the  whole 
lump,  and  surely  he  will  hide  it  in  the  hollow  of  his 
hand  and  in  the  shadow  of  his  wing.  God  of  battles, 
hear  us  !  God  of  England,  God  of  America,  aid  the 
children  of  the  one,  the  saviors  of  the  other ! " 

He  had  dropped  the  pike  to  raise  his  clasped  hands 
to  the  blue  heavens,  but  now  he  lifted  it  again,  threw 
back  his  shoulders,  and  flung  up  his  head.  He  laid 
his  hand  on  the  flagstaff,  and  looked  up  to  the  banner 
streaming  in  the  breeze.  "  It  looks  well  so  high 
against  the  blue,  doesn't  it,  friends?"  he  cried  gen 
ially.  "  Suppose  we  keep  it  there  forever  and  a  day  I  " 

A  cheer  arose,  so  loud  that  it  silenced,  if  it  did  not 
convince,  the  craven  few.  As  for  Master  Edward 
Sharpless,  he  disappeared  behind  the  line  of  women. 

The  great  ship  came  steadily  on,  her  white  sails 
growing  larger  and  larger,  moment  by  moment,  her 
tiers  of  guns  more  distinct  and  menacing,  her  whole 
aspect  more  defiant.  Her  waist  seemed  packed  with 
men.  But  no  streamers,  no  flag. 

A  puff  of  smoke  floated  up  from  the  deck  of  the 
Tiger,  and  a  ball  from  one  of  her  two  tiny  falcons 


WE   PREPARE   TO   FIGHT  THE   SPANIARD      65 

passed  through  the  stranger's  rigging.  A  cheer  for 
the  brave  little  cockboat  arose  from  the  English. 
"  David  and  his  pebble  ! "  exclaimed  Master  Jeremy 
Sparrow.  "  Now  for  Goliath's  twenty-pounders  !  " 

But  no  flame  and  thunder  issued  from  the  guns 
aboard  the  stranger.  Instead,  from  her  deck  there 
came  to  us  what  sounded  mightily  like  a  roar  of 
laughter.  Suddenly,  from  each  masthead  and  yard 
shot  out  streamers  of  red  and  blue,  up  from  the  poop 
rose  and  flaunted  in  the  wind  the  crosses  of  St.  George 
and  St.  Andrew,  and  with  a  crash  trumpet,  drum,  and 
fife  rushed  into 

"  Here  's  to  jolly  good  ale  and  old !  " 

"  By  the  Lord,  she 's  English  !  "  shouted  the  Gov 
ernor. 

On  she  came,  banners  flying,  music  playing,  and 
inextinguishable  laughter  rising  from  her  decks.  The 
Tiger,  the  Truelove,  and  the  Due  Eeturn  sent  no  more 
hailstones  against  her  ;  they  turned  and  resolved  them 
selves  into  her  consort.  The  watch,  a  grim  old  sea 
dog  that  had  come  in  with  Dale,  swung  himself  down 
from  his  post,  and  came  toward  the  Governor  at  a 
run.  "  I  know  her  now,  sir  !  "  he  shouted.  "  I  was 
at  the  winning  of  Gales,  and  she 's  the  Santa  Teresa, 
that  we  took  and  sent  home  to  the  Queen.  She  was 
Spanish  once,  sir,  but  she  's  English  now." 

The  gates  were  flung  open,  and  the  excited  people 
poured  out  again  upon  the  river  bank.  I  found  my 
self  beside  the  Governor,  whose  honest  countenance 
wore  an  expression  of  profound  bewilderment. 

"  What  d'  ye  make  of  her,  Percy  ?  "  he  said.  "  The 
Company  does  n't  send  servants,  felons,  'prentices,  or 
maids  in  such  craft ;  no,  nor  officers  or  governors, 


66  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

either.  It 's  the  King's  ship,  sure  enough,  but  what  is 
she  doing  here  ?  —  that 's  the  question.  What  does 
she  want,  and  whom  does  she  bring  ?  " 

"  We  '11  soon  know,"  I  answered,  "  for  there  goes 
her  anchor." 

Five  minutes  later  a  boat  was  lowered  from  the 
ship,  and  came  swiftly  toward  us.  The  boat  had  four 
rowers,  and  in  the  stern  sat  a  tall  man,  black-bearded, 
high-colored,  and  magnificently  dressed.  It  touched 
the  sand  some  two  hundred  feet  from  the  spot  where 
Governor,  Councilors,  officers,  and  a  sprinkling  of 
other  sorts  stood  staring  at  it,  and  at  the  great  ship 
beyond.  The  man  in  the  stern  leaped  out,  looked 
around  him,  and  then  walked  toward  us.  As  he 
walked  slowly,  we  had  leisure  to  note  the  richness  of 
his  doublet  and  cloak,  —  the  one  slashed,  the  other 
lined  with  scarlet  taffeta,  —  the  arrogance  of  his  mien 
and  gait,  and  the  superb  full-blooded  beauty  of  his 
face. 

"  The  handsomest  man  that  ever  I  saw !  "  ejaculated 
the  Governor. 

Master  Pory,  standing  beside  him,  drew  in  his 
breath,  then  puffed  it  out  again.  "  Handsome  enough, 
your  Honor,"  he  said,  "  unless  handsome  is  as  hand 
some  does.  That,  gentlemen,  is  my  Lord  Carnal,  — 
that  is  the  King's  latest  favorite." 


CHAPTER  VIII 
IN   WHICH   ENTERS  MY  LORD   CARNAL 

I  FELT  a  touch  upon  my  shoulder,  and  turned  to 
find  Mistress  Percy  beside  me.  Her  cheeks  were 
white,  her  eyes  aflame,  her  whole  frame  tense.  The 
passion  that  dominated  her  was  so  clearly  anger  at 
white  heat  that  I  stared  at  her  in  amazement.  Her 
hand  slid  from  my  shoulder  to  the  bend  of  my  arm 
and  rested  there.  "  Remember  that  I  am  your  wife, 
sir,"  she  said  in  a  low,  fierce  voice,  —  "  your  kind 
and  loving  wife.  You  said  that  your  sword  was 
mine ;  now  bring  your  wit  to  the  same  service  !  " 

There  was  not  time  to  question  her  meaning.  The 
man  whose  position  in  the  realm  had  just  been  an 
nounced  by  the  Secretary,  and  of  whom  we  had  all 
heard  as  one  not  unlikely  to  supplant  even  Bucking 
ham  himself,  was  close  at  hand.  The  Governor, 
headpiece  in  hand,  stepped  forward  ;  the  other  swept 
off  his  Spanish  hat ;  both  bowed  profoundly. 

"  I  speak  to  his  Honor  the  Governor  of  Virginia  ?  " 
inquired  the  newcomer.  His  tone  was  offhand,  his 
hat  already  back  upon  his  head. 

"  I  am  George  Yeardley,  at  my  Lord  Carnal's  ser 
vice,"  answered  the  Governor. 

The  favorite  raised  his  eyebrows.  "  I  don't  need 
to  introduce  myself,  it  seems,"  he  said.  "  You  've 
found  that  I  am  not  the  devil,  after  all,  —  at  least 
not  the  Spanish  Apollyon.  Zooks !  a  hawk  above 


68  TO   HAVE  AND  TO   HOLD 

a  poultry  yard  could  n't  have  caused  a  greater  com 
motion  than  did  my  poor  little  ship  and  my  few  poor 
birding  pieces !  Does  every  strange  sail  so  put  you 
through  your  paces  ?  " 

The  Governor's  color  mounted.  "  We  are  not  at 
home,"  he  answered  stiffly.  "  Here  we  are  few  and 
weak  and  surrounded  by  many  dangers,  and  have 
need  to  be  vigilant,  being  planted,  as  it  were,  in  the 
very  grasp  of  that  Spain  who  holds  Europe  in  awe, 
and  who  claims  this  land  as  her  own.  That  we  are 
here  at  all  is  proof  enough  of  our  courage,  my  lord." 

The  other  shrugged  his  shoulders.  "  I  don't  doubt 
your  mettle,"  he  said  negligently.  "  I  dare  say  it 
matches  your  armor." 

His  glance  had  rested  for  a  moment  upon  the  bat 
tered  headpiece  and  ancient  rusty  breastplate  with 
which  Master  Jeremy  Sparrow  was  bedight. 

"  It  is  something  antique,  truly,  something  out  of 
fashion,"  remarked  that  worthy,  —  "  almost  as  out  of 
fashion  as  courtesy  from  guests,  or  respect  for  digni 
ties  from  my-face-is-my-fortune  minions  and  lords  on 
carpet  considerations." 

The  hush  of  consternation  following  this  audacious 
speech  was  broken  by  a  roar  of  laughter  from  the  fa 
vorite  himself.  "  Zounds  !  "  he  cried,  "  your  courage 
is  worn  on  your  sleeve,  good  giant !  I  '11  uphold  you 
to  face  Spaniards,  strappado,  rack,  galleys,  and  all !  " 

The  bravado  with  which  he  spoke,  the  insolence  of 
his  bold  glance  and  curled  lip,  the  arrogance  with 
which  he  flaunted  that  King's  favor  which  should  be 
a  brand  more  infamous  than  the  hangman's,  his  beauty, 
the  pomp  of  his  dress,  —  all  were  alike  hateful.  I 
hated  him  then,  scarce  knowing  why,  as  I  hated  him 
afterward  with  reason. 


IN  WHICH  ENTERS  MY  LORD  CARNAL        6iJ 

He  now  pulled  from  the  breast  of  his  doublet  a 
packet,  which  he  proffered  the  Governor.  "From 
the  King,  sir,"  he  announced,  in  the  half-fierce,  half- 
mocking  tone  he  had  made  his  own.  "You  may 
read  it  at  your  leisure.  He  wishes  you  to  further  me 
in  a  quest  upon  which  I  have  come." 

The  Governor  took  the  packet  with  reverence. 
"  His  Majesty's  will  is  our  law,"  he  said.  "  Anything 
that  lies  in  our  power,  sir  ;  though  if  you  come  for 
gold"- 

The  favorite  laughed  again.  "  I  've  come  for  a 
thing  a  deal  more  precious,  Sir  Governor,  —  a  thing 
worth  more  to  me  than  all  the  treasure  of  the  Indies 
with  Manoa  and  El  Dorado  thrown  in,  —  to  wit,  the 
thing  upon  which  I  've  set  my  mind.  That  which  I 
determine  to  do,  I  do,  sir ;  and  the  thing  I  determine 
to  have,  why,  sooner  or  later,  by  hook  or  by  crook, 
fair  means  or  foul,  I  have  it !  I  am  not  one  to  be 
crossed  or  defied  with  impunity." 

"  I  do  not  take  your  meaning,  my  lord,"  said  the 
Governor,  puzzled,  but  courteous.  "  There  are  none 
here  who  would  care  to  thwart,  in  any  honorable  en 
terprise,  a  nobleman  so  high  in  the  King's  favor.  I 
trust  that  my  Lord  Carnal  will  make  my  poor  house 
his  own  during  his  stay  in  Virginia  —  What 's  the 
matter,  my  lord  ?  " 

My  lord's  face  was  dark  red,  his  black  eyes  afire, 
his  mustaches  working  up  and  down.  His  white 
teeth  had  closed  with  a  click  on  the  loud  oath  which 
had  interrupted  the  Governor's  speech.  Honest  Sir 
George  and  his  circle  stared  at  this  unaccountable 
guest  in  amazement  not  unmixed  with  dismay.  As 
for  myself,  I  knew  before  he  spoke  what  had  caused 
the  oath  and  the  fierce  triumph  in  that  handsome 


70  TO   HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

face.  Master  Jeremy  Sparrow  had  moved  a  little  to 
one  side,  thus  exposing  to  view  that  which  his  great 
body  had  before  screened  from  observation,  —  namely, 
Mistress  Jocelyn  Percy. 

In  a  moment  the  favorite  was  before  her,  hat  in 
hand,  bowing  to  the  ground. 

"  My  quest  hath  ended  where  I  feared  it  but  be 
gun  !  "  he  cried,  flushed  and  exultant.  "  I  have  found 
my  Manoa  sooner  than  I  thought  for.  Have  you  no 
welcome  for  me,  lady  ?  " 

She  withdrew  her  arm  from  mine  and  curtsied 
to  him  profoundly ;  then  stood  erect,  indignant  and 
defiant,  her  eyes  angry  stars,  her  cheeks  carnation, 
scorn  on  her  smiling  lips. 

"  I  cannot  welcome  you  as  you  should  be  welcomed, 
my  lord,"  she  said  in  a  clear  voice.  "  I  have  but  my 
bare  hands.  Manoa,  my  lord,  lies  far  to  the  south 
ward.  This  land  is  quite  out  of  your  course,  and  you 
will  find  here  but  your  travail  for  your  pains.  My 
lord,  permit  me  to  present  to  you  my  husband,  Cap 
tain  Ralph  Percy.  I  think  that  you  know  his  cousin, 
my  Lord  of  Northumberland." 

The  red  left  the  favorite's  cheeks,  and  he  moved  as 
though  a  blow  had  been  dealt  him  by  some  invisible 
hand.  Recovering  himself  he  bowed  to  me,  and  I  to 
him,  which  done  we  looked  each  other  in  the  eyes  long 
enough  for  each  to  see  the  thrown  gauntlet. 

"  I  raise  it,"  I  said. 

"  And  I  raise  it,"  he  answered. 

"A  1'outrance,  I  think,  sir?"  I  continued. 

"  A  FQU trance,"  he  assented. 

"  And  between  us  two  alone,"  I  suggested. 

His  answering  smile  was  not  good  to  see,  nor  was  the 
tone  in  which  he  spoke  to  the  Governor  good  to  hear. 


IN  WHICH  ENTERS  MY  LORD   CARNAL       71 

"  It  is  now  some  weeks,  sir,"  he  said,  "  since  there 
disappeared  from  court  a  jewel,  a  diamond  of  most 
inestimable  worth.  It  in  some  sort  belonged  to  the 
King,  and  his  Majesty,  in  the  goodness  of  his  heart, 
had  promised  it  to  a  certain  one,  —  nay,  had  sworn 
by  his  kingdom  that  it  should  be  his.  Well,  sir,  that 
man  put  forth  his  hand  to  claim  his  own  —  when  lo  ! 
the  jewel  vanished  !  Where  it  went  no  man  could 
tell.  There  was,  as  you  may  believe,  a  mighty  run 
ning  up  and  down  and  looking  into  dark  corners,  all 
for  naught,  —  it  was  clean  gone.  But  the  man  to 
whom  that  bright  gem  had  been  promised  was  not  one 
easily  hoodwinked  or  baffled.  He  swore  to  trace  it, 
follow  it,  find  it,  and  wear  it." 

His  bold  eyes  left  the  Governor,  to  rest  upon  the 
woman  beside  me ;  had  he  pointed  to  her  with  his 
hand,  he  could  not  have  more  surely  drawn  upon  her 
the  regard  of  that  motley  throng.  By  degrees  the 
crowd  had  fallen  back,  leaving  us  three  —  the  King's 
minion,  the  masquerading  lady,  and  myself  —  the 
centre  of  a  ring  of  staring  faces  ;  but  now  she  be 
came  the  sole  target  at  which  all  eyes  were  directed. 

In  Virginia,  at  this  time,  the  women  of  our  own 
race  were  held  in  high  esteem.  During  the  first  years 
of  our  planting  they  were  a  greater  rarity  than  the 
mocking-birds  and  flying  squirrels,  or  than  that  weed 
the  eating  of  which  made  fools  of  men.  The  man 
whose  wife  was  loving  and  daring  enough,  or  jealous 
enough  of  Indian  maids,  to  follow  him  into  the  wilder 
ness  counted  his  friends  by  the  score  and  never  lacked 
for  company.  The  first  marriage  in  Virginia  was  be 
tween  a  laborer  and  a  waiting  maid,  and  yet  there  was 
as  great  a  deal  of  candy  stuff  as  if  it  had  been  the 
nuptials  of  a  lieutenant  of  the  shire.  The  brother  of 


72  TO  HAVE   AND  TO   HOLD 

my  Lord  de  la  Warre  stood  up  with  the  groom,  the 
brother  of  my  Lord  of  Northumberland  gave  away 
the  bride  and  was  the  first  to  kiss  her,  and  the  Presi 
dent  himself  held  the  caudle  to  their  lips  that  night. 
Since  that  wedding  there  had  been  others.  Gentle 
women  made  the  Virginia  voyage  with  husband  or 
father ;  women  signed  as  servants  and  came  over,  to 
marry  in  three  weeks'  time,  the  husband  paying  good 
tobacco  for  the  wife's  freedom ;  in  the  cargoes  of 
children  sent  for  apprentices  there  were  many  girls. 
And  last,  but  not  least,  had  come  Sir  Edwyn's  doves. 
Things  had  changed  since  that  day  —  at  the  memory 
of  which  men  still  held  their  sides  —  when  Madam 
West,  then  the  only  woman  in  the  town  with  youth  and 
beauty,  had  marched  down  the  street  to  the  pillory, 
mounted  it,  called  to  her  the  drummer,  and  ordered 
him  to  summon  to  the  square  by  tuck  of  drum  every 
man  in  the  place.  Which  done,  and  the  amazed  pop 
ulation  at  hand,  gaping  at  the  spectacle  of  the  wife  of 
their  commander  (then  absent  from  home)  pilloried 
before  them,  she  gave  command,  through  the  crier, 
that  they  should  take  their  fill  of  gazing,  whispering, 
and  nudging  then  and  there,  forever  and  a  day,  and 
then  should  go  about  their  business  and  give  her  leave 
to  mind  her  own. 

That  day  was  gone,  but  men  still  dropped  their 
work  to  see  a  woman  pass,  still  cheered  when  a  far 
thingale  appeared  over  a  ship's  side,  and  at  church 
still  devoted  their  eyes  to  other  service  than  staring  at 
the  minister.  In  our  short  but  crowded  history  few 
things  had  made  a  greater  stir  than  the  coming  in  of 
Sir  Edwyn's  maids.  They  were  married  now,  but 
they  were  still  the  observed  of  all  observers  ;  to  be 
pointed  out  to  strangers,  run  after  by  children,  gaped 


IN   WHICH  ENTERS  MY  LORD   CARNAL       73 

at  by  the  vulgar,  bowed  to  with  broad  smiles  by  Bur 
gess,  Councilor,  and  commander,  and  openly  con 
temned  by  those  dames  who  had  attained  to  a  husband 
in  somewhat  more  regular  fashion.  Of  the  ninety 
who  had  arrived  two  weeks  before,  the  greater  num 
ber  had  found  husbands  in  the  town  itself  or  in  the 
neighboring  hundreds,  so  that  in  the  crowd  that  had 
gathered  to  withstand  the  Spaniard,  and  had  stayed 
to  welcome  the  King's  favorite,  there  were  farthin 
gales  not  a  few. 

But  there  were  none  like  the  woman  whose  hand  I 
had  kissed  in  the  courting  meadow.  In  the  throng, 
that  day,  in  her  Puritan  dress  and  amid  the  crowd  of 
meaner  beauties,  she  had  passed  without  overmuch 
comment,  and  since  that  day  none  had  seen  her  save 
Eolfe  and  the  minister,  my  servants  and  myself ;  and 
when  "  The  Spaniard !  "  was  cried,  men  thought  of 
other- things  than  the  beauty  of  women  ;  so  that  until 
this  moment  she  had  escaped  any  special  notice.  Now 
all  that  was  changed.  The  Governor,  following  the 
pointing  of  those  insolent  eyes,  fixed  his  own  upon 
her  in  a  stare  of  sheer  amazement ;  the  gold-laced 
quality  about  him  craned  necks,  lifted  eyebrows,  and 
whispered  ;  and  the  rabble  behind  followed  their  bet 
ters'  example  with  an  emphasis  quite  their  own. 

"  Where  do  you  suppose  that  jewel  went,  Sir  Gov 
ernor,"  said  the  favorite,  — "  that  jewel  which  was 
overnice  to  shine  at  court,  which  set  up  its  will  against 
the  King's,  which  would  have  none  of  that  one  to 
whom  it  had  been  given  ?  " 

"  I  am  a  plain  man,  my  lord,"  replied  the  Governor 
bluntly.  "An  it  please  you,  give  me  plain  words." 

My  lord  laughed,  his  eyes  traveling  round  the  ring 
of  greedily  intent  faces.  "  So  be  it,  sir,"  he  assented. 
"  May  I  ask  who  is  this  lady  ?  " 


74  TO   HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD   , 

"  She  came  in  the  Bonaventure,"  answered  the  Gov 
ernor.  "  She  was  one  of  the  treasurer's  poor  maids." 

"  With  whom  I  trod  a  measure  at  court  not  long 
ago,"  said  the  favorite.  "  I  had  to  wait  for  the  honor 
until  the  prince  had  been  gratified." 

The  Governor's  round  eyes  grew  rounder.  Young 
Hamor,  a-tiptoe  behind  him,  drew  a  long,  low  whistle. 

"  In  so  small  a  community,"  went  on  my  lord, 
"  sure  you  must  all  know  one  another.  There  can  be 
no  masks  worn,  no  false  colors  displayed.  Everything 
must  be  as  open  as  daylight.  But  we  all  have  a  past  as 
well  as  a  present.  Now,  for  instance  "  — 

I  interrupted  him.  "  In  Virginia,  my  lord,  we 
live  in  the  present.  At  present,  my  lord,  I  like  not 
the  color  of  your  lordship's  cloak." 

He  stared  at  me,  with  his  black  brows  drawn 
together.  "It  is  not  of  your  choosing  nor  for  your 
wearing,  sir,"  he  rejoined  haughtily. 

"  And  your  sword  knot  is  villainously  tied,"  I  con 
tinued.  "  And  I  like  not  such  a  fire-new,  bejeweled 
scabbard.  Mine,  you  see,  is  out  at  heel." 

"  I  see,"  he  said  dryly. 

"  The  pinking  of  your  doublet  suits  me  not,  either," 
I  declared.  "  I  could  make  it  more  to  my  liking," 
and  I  touched  his  Genoa  three-pile  with  the  point  of 
my  rapier. 

A  loud  murmur  arose  from  the  crowd,  and  the  Gov 
ernor  started  forward,  crying  out,  "  Captain  Percy ! 
Are  you  mad?" 

"  I  was  never  saner  in  my  life,  sir,"  I  answered. 
"  French  fashions  like  me  not,  —  that  is  all,  —  nor 
Englishmen  that  wear  them.  To  my  thinking  such 
are  scarcely  true-born." 

That  thrust  went  home.     All  the  world  knew  the 


IN   WHICH   ENTERS   MY  LORD   CARNAL       75 

story  of  my  late  Lord  Carnal  and  the  waiting  woman 
in  the  service  of  the  French  ambassador's  wife.  A 
gasp  of  admiration  went  up  from  the  crowd.  My 
lord's  rapier  was  out,  the  hand  that  held  it  shaking 
with  passion.  I  had  my  blade  in  my  hand,  but  the 
point  was  upon  the  ground.  "  I  '11  lesson  you,  you 
madman !  "  he  said  thickly.  Suddenly,  without  any 
warning,  he  thrust  at  me ;  had  he  been  less  blind 
with  rage,  the  long  score  which  each  was  to  run  up 
against  the  other  might  have  ended  where  it  began. 
I  swerved,  and  the  next  instant  with  my  own  point 
sent  his  rapier  whirling.  It  fell  at  the  Governor's 
feet. 

"  Your  lordship  may  pick  it  up,"  I  remarked. 
"  Your  grasp  is  as  firm  as  your  honor,  my  lord." 

He  glared  at  me,  foam  upon  his  lips.  Men  were 
between  us  now,  —  the  Governor,  Francis  West,  Mas 
ter  Pory,  Hamor,  Wynne,  —  and  a  babel  of  excited 
voices  arose.  The  diversion  I  had  aimed  to  make  had 
been  made  with  a  vengeance.  West  had  me  by  the 
arm.  "  What  a  murrain  is  all  this  coil  about,  Ralph 
Percy?  If  you  hurt  hair  of  his  head,  you  are  lost!  " 

The  favorite  broke  from  the  Governor's  detaining 
hand  and  conciliatory  speech. 

"You  '11  fight,  sir?  "  he  cried  hoarsely. 

"  You  know  that  I  need  not  now,  my  lord,"  I 
answered. 

He  stamped  upon  the  ground  with  rage  and 
shame ;  not  true  shame  for  that  foul  thrust,  but  shame 
for  the  sword  upon  the  grass,  for  that  which  could  be 
read  in  men's  eyes,  strive  to  hide  it  as  they  might, 
for  the  open  scorn  upon  one  face.  Then,  during  the 
minute  or  more  in  which  we  faced  each  other  in  silence, 
he  exerted  to  some  effect  that  will  of  which  he  had 


76  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

boasted.  The  scarlet  faded  from  his  face,  his  frame 
steadied,  and  he  forced  a  smile.  Also  he  called  to  his 
aid  a  certain  soldierly,  honest-seeming  frankness  of 
speech  and  manner  which  he  could  assume  at  will. 

"  Your  Virginian  sunshine  dazzleth  the  eyes,  sir," 
he  said.  "  Of  a  verity  it  made  me  think  you  on 
guard.  Forgive  me  my  mistake." 

I  bowed.  "  Your  lordship  will  find  me  at  your  ser 
vice.  I  lodge  at  the  minister's  house,  where  your 
lordship's  messenger  will  find  me.  I  am  going  there 
now  with  my  wife,  who  hath  ridden  a  score  of  miles 
this  morning  and  is  weary.  We  give  you  good-day, 
my  lord." 

I  bowed  to  him  again  and  to  the  Governor,  then 
gave  my  hand  to  Mistress  Percy.  The  crowd  opening 
before  us,  we  passed  through  it,  and  crossed  the  pa 
rade  by  the  west  bulwark.  At  the  further  end  was  a 
bit  of  rising  ground.  This  we  mounted  ;  then,  before 
descending  the  other  side  into  the  lane  leading  to  the 
minister's  house,  we  turned  as  by  one  impulse  and 
looked  back.  Life  is  like  one  of  those  endless  Italian 
corridors,  painted,  picture  after  picture,  by  a  master 
hand ;  and  man  is  the  traveler  through  it,  taking  his 
eyes  from  one  scene  but  to  rest  them  upon  another. 
Some  remain  a  blur  in  his  mind ;  some  he  remembers 
not ;  for  some  he  has  but  to  close  his  eyes  and  he  sees 
them  again,  line  for  line,  tint  for  tint,  the  whole 
spirit  of  the  piece.  I  close  my  eyes,  and  I  see  the 
sunshine  hot  and  bright,  the  blue  of  the  skies,  the 
sheen  of  the  river.  The  sails  are  white  again  upon 
boats  long  lost ;  the  Santa  Teresa,  sunk  in  a  fight 
with  an  Algerine  rover  two  years  afterward,  rides  at 
anchor  there  forever  in  the  James,  her  crew  in  the 
waist  and  the  rigging,  her  master  and  his  mates  on 


IN  WHICH  ENTERS  MY  LORD  CARNAL       77 

the  poop,  above  them  the  flag.  I  see  the  plain  at  our 
feet  and  the  crowd  beyond,  all  staring  with  upturned 
faces ;  and  standing  out  from  the  group  of  perplexed 
and  wondering  dignitaries  a  man  in  black  and  scarlet, 
one  hand  busy  at  his  mouth,  the  other  clenched  upon 
the  newly  restored  and  unsheathed  sword.  And  I  see, 
standing  on  the  green  hillock,  hand  in  hand,  us  two, 
—  myself  and  the  woman  so  near  to  me,  and  yet  so 
far  away  that  a  common  enemy  seemed  our  only  tie. 

We  turned  and  descended  to  the  green  lane  and 
the  deserted  houses.  When  we  were  quite  hidden 
from  those  we  had  left  on  the  bank  below  the  fort, 
she  dropped  my  hand  and  moved  to  the  other  side  of 
the  lane ;  and  thus,  with  never  a  word  to  spare,  we 
walked  sedately  on  until  we  reached  the  minister's 
house. 


CHAPTER  IX 

IN    WHICH   TWO   DRINK   OF   ONE    CUP 

WAITING  for  us  in  the  doorway  we  found  Master 
Jeremy  Sparrow,  relieved  of  his  battered  armor,  his 
face  wreathed  with  hospitable  smiles,  and  a  posy  in 
his  hand. 

"  When  the  Spaniard  turned  out  to  be  only  the 
King's  minion,  I  slipped  away  to  see  that  all  was  in 
order,"  he  said  genially.  "Here  are  roses,  madam, 
that  you  are  not  to  treat  as  you  did  those  others." 

She  took  them  from  him  with  a  smile,  and  we  went 
into  the  house  to  find  three  fair  large  rooms,  some 
thing  bare  of  furnishing,  but  clean  and  sweet,  with 
here  and  there  a  bow  pot  of  newly  gathered  flowers, 
a  dish  of  wardens  on  the  table,  and  a  cool  air  laden 
with  the  fragrance  of  the  pine  blowing  through  the 
open  window. 

"  This  is  your  demesne,"  quoth  the  minister.  "  I 
have  worthy  Master  Bucke's  own  chamber  upstairs. 
Ah,  good  man,  I  wish  he  may  quickly  recover  his 
strength  and  come  back  to  his  own,  and  so  relieve  me 
of  the  burden  of  all  this  luxury.  I,  whom  nature 
meant  for  an  eremite,  have  no  business  in  kings' 
chambers  such  as  these." 

His  devout  faith  in  his  own  distaste  for  soft  living 
and  his  longings  after  a  hermit's  cell  was  an  edifying 
spectacle.  So  was  the  evident  pride  which  he  took  in 
his  domain,  the  complacence  with  which  he  pointed 


IN  WHICH  TWO   DRINK  OF  ONE   CUP         79 

out  the  shady,  well-stocked  garden,  and  the  delight 
with  which  he  produced  and  set  upon  the  table  a  huge 
pasty  and  a  flagon  of  wine. 

"  It  is  a  fast  day  with  me,"  he  said.  "  I  may  neither 
eat  nor  drink  until  the  sun  goes  down.  The  flesh 
is  a  strong  giant,  very  full  of  pride  and  lust  of  living, 
and  the  spirit  must  needs  keep  watch  and  ward,  seiz 
ing  every  opportunity  to  mortify  and  deject  its  adver 
sary.  Goodwife  Allen  is  still  gaping  with  the  crowd 
at  the  fort,  and  your  man  and  maid  have  not  yet 
come,  but  I  shall  be  overhead  if  you  need  aught. 
Mistress  Percy  must  want  rest  after  her  ride." 

He  was  gone,  leaving  us  two  alone  together.  She 
stood  opposite  me,  beside  the  window,  from  which  she 
had  not  moved  since  entering  the  room.  The  color 
was  still  in  her  cheeks,  the  light  in  her  eyes,  and  she 
still  held  the  roses  with  which  Sparrow  had  heaped 
her  arms.  I  was  moving  to  the  table. 

"  Wait !  "  she  said,  and  I  turned  toward  her  again. 

"  Have  you  no  questions  to  ask  ?  "  she  demanded. 

I  shook  my  head.     "  None,  madam." 

"  I  was  the  King's  ward  !  "  she  cried. 

I  bowed,  but  spoke  no  word,  though  she  waited 
for  me. 

"  If  you  will  listen,"  she  said  at  last,  proudly,  and 
yet  with  a  pleading  sweetness,  —  "if  you  will  listen,  I 
will  tell  you  how  it  was  that  I  —  that  I  came  to  wrong 
you  so." 

"  I  am  listening,  madam,"  I  replied. 

She  stood  against  the  light,  the  roses  pressed  to  her 
bosom,  her  dark  eyes  upon  me,  her  head  held  high. 
"  My  mother  died  when  I  was  born  ;  my  father,  years 
ago.  I  was  the  King's  ward.  While  the  Queen  lived 
she  kept  me  with  her,  —  she  loved  me,  I  think ;  and 


80  TO  HAVE  AND  TO   HOLD 

the  King  too  was  kind,  —  would  have  me  sing  to  him, 
and  would  talk  to  me  about  witchcraft  and  the  Scrip 
tures,  and  how  rebellion  to  a  king  is  rebellion  to  God. 
When  I  was  sixteen,  and  he  tendered  me  marriage 
with  a  Scotch  lord,  I,  who  loved  the  gentleman  not, 
never  having  seen  him,  prayed  the  King  to  take  the 
value  of  my  marriage  and  leave  me  my  freedom.  He 
was  so  good  to  me  then  that  the  Scotch  lord  was  wed 
elsewhere,  and  I  danced  at  the  wedding  with  a  mind 
at  ease.  Time  passed,  and  the  King  was  still  my  very 
good  lord.  Then,  one  black  day,  my  Lord  Carnal 
came  to  court,  and  the  King  looked  at  him  oftener 
than  at  his  Grace  of  Buckingham.  A  few  months, 
and  my  lord's  wish  was  the  King's  will.  To  do  this 
new  favorite  pleasure  he  forgot  his  ancient  kindness 
of  heart ;  yea,  and  he  made  the  law  of  no  account.  I 
was  his  kinswoman,  and  under  my  full  age ;  he  would 
give  my  hand  to  whom  he  chose.  He  chose  to  give  it 
to  my  Lord  Carnal." 

She  broke  off,  and  turned  her  face  from  me  toward 
the  slant  sunshine  without  the  window.  Thus  far  she 
had  spoken  quietly,  with  a  certain  proud  patience  of 
voice  and  bearing ;  but  as  she  stood  there  in  a  silence 
which  I  did  not  break,  the  memory  of  her  wrongs 
brought  the  crimson  to  her  cheeks  and  the  anger 
to  her  eyes.  Suddenly  she  burst  forth  passionately : 
"  The  King  is  the  King !  What  is  a  subject's  will  to 
clash  with  his  ?  What  weighs  a  woman's  heart  against 
his  whim?  Little  cared  he  that  my  hand  held  back, 
grew  cold  at  the  touch  of  that  other  hand  in  which  he 
would  have  put  it.  What  matter  if  my  will  was 
against  that  marriage  ?  It  was  but  the  will  of  a  girl, 
and  must  be  broken.  All  my  world  was  with  the 
King ;  I,  who  stood  alone,  was  but  a  woman,  young 


IN  WHICH  TWO  DRINK  OF  ONE  CUP        81 

and  untaught.  Oh,  they  pressed  me  sore,  they  angered 
me  to  the  very  heart !  There  was  not  one  to  fight  my 
battle,  to  help  me  in  that  strait,  to  show  me  a  better 
path  than  that  I  took.  With  all  my  heart,  with  all 
my  soul,  with  all  my  might,  I  hate  that  man  which 
that  ship  brought  here  to-day !  You  know  what  I 
did  to  escape  them  all,  to  escape  that  man.  I  fled 
from  England  in  the  dress  of  my  waiting  maid  and 
under  her  name.  I  came  to  Virginia  in  that  guise. 
I  let  myself  be  put  up,  appraised,  cried  for  sale,  in 
that  meadow  yonder,  as  if  I  had  been  indeed  the 
piece  of  merchandise  I  professed  myself.  The  one 
man  who  approached  me  with  respect  I  gulled  and 
cheated.  I  let  him,  a  stranger,  give  me  his  name.  I 
shelter  myself  now  behind  his  name.  I  have  foisted 
on  him  my  quarrel.  I  have —  Oh,  despise  me,  if 
you  will !  You  cannot  despise  me  more  than  I  despise 
myself ! " 

I  stood  with  my  nand  upon  the  table  and  my  eyes 
studying  the  shadow  of  the  vines  upon  the  floor.  All 
that  she  said  was  perfectly  true,  and  yet  —  I  had  a 
vision  of  a  scarlet  and  black  figure  and  a  dark  and 
beautiful  face.  I  too  hated  my  Lord  Carnal. 

"  I  do  not  despise  you,  madam,"  I  said  at  last. 
"  What  was  done  two  weeks  ago  in  the  meadow  yon 
der  is  past  recall.  Let  it  rest.  What  is  mine  is 
yours  :  it 's  little  beside  my  sword  and  my  name.  The 
one  is  naturally  at  my  wife's  service ;  for  the  other,  I 
have  had  some  pride  in  keeping  it  untarnished.  It  is 
now  in  your  keeping  as  well  as  my  own.  I  do  not  fear 
to  leave  it  there,  madam." 

I  had  spoken  with  my  eyes  upon  the  garden  outside 
the  window,  but  now  I  looked  at  her,  to  see  that  she 
was  trembling  in  every  limb,  —  trembling  so  that  I 


82  TO  HAVE   AND  TO  HOLD 

thought  she  would  fall.  I  hastened  to  her.  "  The 
roses,"  she  said,  —  "  the  roses  are  too  heavy.  Oh,  1 
am  tired  —  and  the  room  goes  round." 

I  caught  her  as  she  fell,  and  laid  her  gently  upon 
the  floor.  There  was  water  on  the  table,  and  I  dashed 
some  in  her  face  and  moistened  her  lips ;  then  turned 
to  the  door  to  get  woman's  help,  and  ran  against 
Diccon. 

"  I  got  that  bag  of  bones  here  at  last,  sir,"  he  began. 
"  If  ever  I "  —  His  eyes  traveled  past  me,  and  he 
broke  off. 

"  Don't  stand  there  staring,"  I  ordered.  "  Go 
bring  the  first  woman  you  meet." 

"  Is  she  dead  ?  "  he  asked  under  his  breath.  "  Have 
you  killed  her  ?  " 

"Killed  her,  fool!"  I  cried.  "Have  you  never 
seen  a  woman  swoon  ?  " 

"She  looks  like  death,"  he  muttered.  "I 
thought "  - 

"  You  thought !  "  I  exclaimed.  "  You  have  too 
many  thoughts.  Begone,  and  call  for  help  !  " 

"Here  is  Angela,"  he  said  sullenly  and  without 
offering  to  move,  as,  light  of  foot,  soft  of  voice,  ox- 
eyed  and  docile,  the  black  woman  entered  the  room. 
When  I  saw  her  upon  her  knees  beside  the  motionless 
figure,  the  head  pillowed  on  her  arm,  her  hand  busy 
with  the  fastenings  about  throat  and  bosom,  her  dark 
face  as  womanly  tender  as  any  English  mother's  bend 
ing  over  her  nursling ;  and  when  I  saw  my  wife,  with 
a  little  moan,  creep  further  into  the  encircling  arms, 
I  was  satisfied. 

"  Come  away !  "  I  said,  and,  followed  by  Diccon, 
went  out  and  shut  the  door. 

My  Lord  Carnal  was  never  one  to   let  the  grass 


'COME  AWAY!"  I  SAID 


IN   WHICH  TWO   DRINK  OF  ONE   CUP         83 

grow  beneath  his  feet.  An  hour  later  came  his  cartel, 
borne  by  no  less  a  personage  than  the  Secretary  of  the 
colony. 

I  took  it  from  the  point  of  that  worthy's  rapier. 
It  ran  thus  :  "  SIR,  —  At  what  hour  to-morrow  and  at 
what  place  do  you  prefer  to  die  ?  And  with  what 
weapon  shall  I  kill  you  ?  " 

"Captain  Percy  will  give  me  credit  for  the  pro 
found  reluctance  with  which  I  act  in  this  affair 
against  a  gentleman  and  an  officer  so  high  in  the  es 
teem  of  the  colony,"  said  Master  Pory,  with  his  hand 
upon  his  heart.  "  When  I  tell  him  that  I  once  fought 
at  Paris  in  a  duel  of  six  on  the  same  side  with  my  late 
Lord  Carnal,  and  that  when  I  was  last  at  court  my 
Lord  Warwick  did  me  the  honor  to  present  me  to  the 
present  lord,  he  will  see  that  I  could  not  well  refuse 
when  the  latter  requested  my  aid." 

"Master  Pory's  disinterestedness  is  perfectly  well 
known,"  I  said,  without  a  smile.  "  If  he  ever  chooses 
the  stronger  side,  sure  he  has  strong  reasons  for  so 
doing.  He  will  oblige  me  by  telling  his  principal  that 
I  ever  thought  sunrise  a  pleasant  hour  for  dying,  and 
that  there  could  be  no  fitter  place  than  the  field  be 
hind  the  church,  convenient  as  it  is  to  the  graveyard. 
As  for  weapons,  I  have  heard  that  he  is  a  good  swords 
man,  but  I  have  some  little  reputation  that  way  my 
self.  If  he  prefers  pistols  or  daggers,  so  be  it." 

"  I  think  we  may  assume  the  sword,"  said  Master 
Pory. 

I  bowed. 

"  You  '11  bring  a  friend  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  I  do  not  despair  of  finding  one,"  I  answered, 
"  though  my  second,  Master  Secretary,  will  put  him 
self  in  some  jeopardy." 


84  TO   HAVE   AND   TO   HOLD 

"  It  is  combat  a  outrance,  I  believe  ?  " 

"  I  understand  it  so." 

"  Then  we  'd  better  have  Bohun.  The  survivor  may 
need  his  services." 

"  As  you  please,"  I  replied,  "  though  my  man  Die- 
con  dresses  my  scratches  well  enough." 

He  bit  his  lip,  but  could  not  hide  the  twinkle  in 
his  eye. 

"  You  are  cocksure,"  he  said.  "  Curiously  enough, 
so  is  my  lord.  There  are  no  further  formalities  to 
adjust,  I  believe?  To-morrow  at  sunrise,  behind  the 
church,  and  with  rapiers  ?  " 

"  Precisely." 

He  slapped  his  blade  back  into  its  sheath.  "  Then 
that 's  over  and  done  with,  for  the  nonce  at  least ! 
Sufficient  unto  the  day,  etcetera.  'S  life  !  I  'm  hot 
and  dry  !  You  've  sacked  cities,  Ralph  Percy ;  now 
sack  me  the  minister's  closet  and  bring  out  his  sher- 
ris.  I  '11  be  at  charges  for  the  next  communion." 

We  sat  us  down  upon  the  doorstep  with  a  tankard 
of  sack  between  us,  and  Master  Pory  drank,  and 
drank,  and  drank  again. 

"  How  's  the  crop  ?  "  he  asked.  "  Martin  reports 
'it  poorer  in  quality  than  ever,  but  Sir  George  will 
have  it  that  it  is  very  Varinas." 

"  It 's  ever}'  whit  as  good  as  the  Spanish,"  I  an 
swered.  "  You  may  tell  my  Lord  Warwick  so,  when 
next  you  write." 

He  laughed.  If  he  was  a  timeserver  and  leagued 
with  my  Lord  Warwick's  faction  in  the  Company,  he 
was  a  jovial  sinner.  Traveler  and  student,  much  of 
a  philosopher,  more  of  a  wit,  and  boon  companion  to 
any  beggar  with  a  pottle  of  ale,  —  while  the  drink 
lasted,  —  we  might  look  askance  at  his  dealings,  but 


IN  WHICH  TWO   DRINK  OF  ONE  CUP         85 

we  liked  his  company  passing  well.  If  he  took  half 
a  poor  rustic's  crop  for  his  fee,  he  was  ready  enough 
to  toss  him  sixpence  for  drink  money ;  and  if  he  made 
the  tenants  of  the  lands  allotted  to  his  office  leave  their 
tobacco  uncared  for  whilst  they  rowed  him  on  his  in 
numerable  roving  expeditions  up  creeks  and  rivers, 
he  at  least  lightened  their  labors  with  most  side-split 
ting  tales,  and  with  bottle  songs  learned  in  a  thousand 
taverns. 

"  After  to-morrow  there  '11  be  more  interesting  news 
to  write,"  he  announced.  "  You  're  a  bold  man,  Cap 
tain  Percy." 

He  looked  at  me  out  of  the  corners  of  his  little 
twinkling  eyes.  I  sat  and  smoked  in  silence. 

"  The  King  begins  to  dote  upon  him,"  he  said ; 
"  leans  on  his  arm,  plays  with  his  hand,  touches  his 
cheek.  Buckingham  stands  by,  biting  his  lip,  his 
brow  like  a  thundercloud.  You  '11  find  in  to-morrow's 
antagonist,  Ralph  Percy,  as  potent  a  conjurer  as  your 
cousin  Hotspur  found  in  Glendower.  He  '11  conjure 
you  up  the  Tower,  and  a  hanging,  drawing,  and  quar 
tering.  Who  touches  the  King's  favorite  had  safer 
touch  the  King.  It 's  lese-majeste  you  contemplate." 

He  lit  his  pipe  and  blew  out  a  great  cloud  of  smoke, 
then  burst  into  a  roar  of  laughter.  "  My  Lord  High 
Admiral  may  see  you  through.  Zooks !  there  '11  be 
a  raree-show  worth  the  penny,  behind  the  church  to 
morrow,  —  a  Percy  striving  with  all  his  might  and 
main  to  serve  a  Villiers !  Eureka  !  There  is  some 
thing  new  under  the  sun,  despite  the  Preacher !  "  He 
blew  out  another  cloud  of  smoke.  By  this  the  tank 
ard  was  empty,  and  his  cheeks  were  red,  his  eyes 
moist,  and  his  laughter  very  ready. 

"  Where 's  the  Lady  Jocelyn  Leigh  ? "  he  asked. 


86  TO  HAVE  AND  TO   HOLD 

"  May  I  not  have  the  honor  to  kiss  her  hand  before 
I  go?" 

I  stared  at  him.  "  I  do  not  understand  you,"  I 
said  coldly.  "  There 's  none  within  but  Mistress 
Percy.  She  is  weary,  and  rests  after  her  journey. 
We  came  from  Weyanoke  this  morning." 

He  shook  with  laughter.  "  Ay,  ay,  brave  it  out !  " 
he  cried.  "  It 's  what  every  man  Jack  of  us  said  you 
would  do !  But  all 's  known,  man !  The  Governor 
read  the  King's  letters  in  full  Council  an  hour  ago. 
She  's  the  Lady  Jocelyn  Leigh ;  she  's  a  ward  of  the 
King's;  she  and  her  lands  are  to  wed  my  Lord  Car 
nal!" 

"  She  was  all  that,"  I  replied.  "  Now  she  's  my 
wife." 

"  You  '11  find  that  the  Court  of  High  Commission 
will  not  agree  with  you." 

My  rapier  lay  across  my  knees,  and  I  ran  my  hand 
down  its  worn  scabbard.  "  Here  's  one  that  agrees 
with  me,"  I  said.  "  And  up  there  is  Another,"  and 
I  lifted  my  hat. 

He  stared.  "  God  and  my  good  sword ! "  he  cried. 
"  A  very  knightly  dependence,  but  not  to  be  men 
tioned  nowadays  in  the  same  breath  with  gold  and 
the  King's  favor.  Better  bend  to  the  storm,  man ; 
sing  low  while  it  roars  past.  You  can  swear  that  you 
did  n't  know  her  to  be  of  finer  weave  than  dowlas. 
Oh,  they  '11  call  it  in  some  sort  a  marriage,  for  the 
lady's  own  sake ;  but  they  '11  find  flaws  enough  to 
crack  a  thousand  such  mad  matches.  The  divorce  is 
the  thing !  There  's  precedent,  you  know.  A  fair 
lady  was  parted  from  a  brave  man  not  a  thousand 
years  ago,  because  a  favorite  wanted  her.  True, 
Frances  Howard  wanted  the  favorite,  whilst  this 
beauty  of  yours  "  — 


IN  WHICH  TWO  DRINK  OF  ONE  CUP        87 

"  You  will  please  not  couple  the  name  of  my  wife 
with  the  name  of  that  adulteress ! "  I  interrupted 
fiercely. 

He  started;  then  cried  out  somewhat  hurriedly: 
"  No  offense,  no  offense  !  I  meant  no  comparisons  ; 
comparisons  are  odorous,  saith  Dogberry.  All  at 
court  know  the  Lady  Jocelyn  Leigh  for  a  very  Brito- 
mart,  a  maid  as  cold  as  Dian  !  " 

I  rose,  and  began  to  pace  up  and  down  the  bit  of 
green  before  the  door.  "Master  Pory,"  I  said  at 
last,  corning  to  a  stop  before  him,  "  if,  without  breach 
of  faith,  you  can  tell  me  what  was  said  or  done  at  the 
Council  to-day  anent  this  matter,  you  will  lay  me 
under  an  obligation  that  I  shall  not  forget." 

He  studied  the  lace  on  his  sleeve  in  silence  for  a 
while  ;  then  glanced  up  at  me  out  of  those  small,  sly, 
merry  eyes.  "  Why,"  he  answered,  "  the  King  de 
mands  that  the  lady  be  sent  home  forthwith,  on  the 
ship  that  gave  us  such  a  turn  to-day,  in  fact,  with  a 
couple  of  women  to  attend  her,  and  under  the  protec 
tion  of  the  only  other  passenger  of  quality,  to  wit,  my 
Lord  Carnal.  His  Majesty  cannot  conceive  it  possi 
ble  that  she  hath  so  far  forgotten  her  birth,  rank,  and 
duty  as  to  have  maintained  in  Virginia  this  mad  mas 
querade,  throwing  herself  into  the  arms  of  any  petty 
planter  or  broken  adventurer  who  hath  chanced  to 
have  an  hundred  and  twenty  pounds  of  filthy  tobacco 
with  which  to  buy  him  a  wife.  If  she  hath  been  so 
mad,  she  is  to  be  sent  home  none  the  less,  where  she 
will  be  tenderly  dealt  with  as  one  surely  in  this  sole 
matter  under  the  spell  of  witchcraft.  The  ship  is  to 
bring  home  also  —  and  in  irons  —  the  man  who  mar 
ried  her.  If  he  swears  to  have  been  ignorant  of  her 
quality,  and  places  no  straws  in  the  way  of  the  King's 


88  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

Commissioners,  then  shall  he  be  sent  honorably  back 
to  Virginia  with  enough  in  his  hand  to  get  him  an 
other  wife.  Per  contra,  if  he  erred  with  open  eyes, 
and  if  he  remain  contumacious,  he  will  have  to  deal 
with  the  King  and  with  the  Court  of  High  Commis 
sion,  to  say  nothing  of  the  King's  favorite.  That 's 
the  sum  and  substance,  Ealph  Percy." 

"  Why  was  my  Lord  Carnal  sent  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  Probably  because  my  Lord  Carnal  would  come. 
He  hath  a  will,  hath  my  Lord,  and  the  King  is  more 
indulgent  than  Eli  to  those  upon  whom  he  dotes. 
Doubtless,  my  Lord  High  Admiral  sped  him  on  his 
way,  gave  him  the  King's  best  ship,  wished  him  a 
favorable  wind  —  to  hell." 

"  I  was  not  ignorant  that  she  was  other  than  she 
seemed,  and  I  remain  contumacious." 

"  Then,"  he  said  shamelessly,  "  you  '11  forgive  me  if 
in  public,  at  least,  I  forswear  your  company  ?  You  're 
plague-spotted,  Captain  Percy,  and  your  friends  may 
wish  you  well,  but  they  must  stay  at  home  and  burn 
juniper  before  their  own  doors." 

"  I  '11  forgive  you,"  I  said,  "  when  you  've  told  me 
what  the  Governor  will  do." 

"  Why,  there  's  the  rub,"  he  answered.  "  Yeardley 
is  the  most  obstinate  man  of  my  acquaintance.  He 
who  at  his  first  coming,  beside  a  great  deal  of  worth 
in  his  person,  brought  only  his  sword  hath  grown  to 
be  as  very  a  Sir  Oracle  among  us  as  ever  I  saw.  It 's 
4  Sir  George  says  this,'  and  4  Sir  George  says  that,' 
and  so  there 's  an  end  on  't.  It 's  all  because  of  that 
leave  to  cut  your  own  throats  in  your  own  way  that 
he  brought  you  last  year.  Sir  George  and  Sir  Ed- 
wyn !  Zooks  !  you  had  better  dub  them  St.  George 
and  St.  Edwyn  at  once,  and  be  done  with  it.  Well,  on 


IN  WHICH  TWO  DRINK  OF  ONE  CUP         89 

this  occasion  Sir  George  stands  up  and  says  roundly, 
with  a  good  round  oath  to  boot :  '  The  King's  com 
mands  have  always  come  to  us  through  the  Company. 
The  Company  obeys  the  King ;  we  obey  the  Company. 
His  Majesty's  demand  (with  reverence  I  speak  it)  is 
out  of  all  order.  Let  the  Company,  through  the  trea 
surer,  command  us  to  send  Captain  Percy  home  in 
irons  to  answer  for  this  passing  strange  offense,  or  to 
return,  willy  nilly,  the  lady  who  is  now  surely  his  wife, 
and  we  will  have  no  choice  but  to  obey.  Until  the 
Company  commands  us  we  will  do  nothing ;  nay  we 
can  do  nothing.'  And  every  one  of  my  fellow  Coun 
cilors  (for  myself,  I  was  busy  with  my  pens)  saith, 
'My  opinion.  Sir  George.'  The  upshot  of  it  all  is 
that  the  Due  Return  is  to  sail  in  two  days  with  our 
humble  representation  to  his  Majesty  that  though  we 
bow  to  his  lightest  word  as  the  leaf  bows  to  the  zephyr, 
yet  we  are,  in  this  sole  matter,  handf ast,  compelled  by 
his  Majesty's  own  gracious  charter  to  refer  our  slight 
est  official  doing  to  that  noble  Company  which  owes 
its  very  being  to  its  rigid  adherence  to  the  terms  of 
said  charter.  Wherefore,  if  his  Majesty  will  be  gra 
ciously  pleased  to  command  us  as  usual  through  the 
said  Company  —  and  so  on.  Of  course,  not  a  soul  in 
the  Council,  or  in  Jamestown,  or  in  Virginia  dreams 
of  a  duel  behind  the  church  at  sunrise  to-morrow." 
He  knocked  the  ashes  from  his  pipe,  and  by  degrees 
got  his  fat  body  up  from  the  doorstep.  "  So  there  's 
a  reprieve  for  you,  Ralph  Percy,  unless  you  kill  or 
are  killed  to-morrow  morning.  In  the  latter  case,  the 
problem  's  solved ;  in  the  former,  the  best  service  you 
can  do  yourself,  and  maybe  the  Company,  is  to  walk 
out  of  the  world  of  your  own  accord,  and  that  as 
quickly  as  possible.  Better  a  cross-roads  and  a  stake 


90  TO  HAVE  AND  TO   HOLD 

through  a  dead  heart  than  a  hangman's  hands  upon  a 
live  one." 

"  One  moment,"  I  said.  "  Doth  my  Lord  Carnal 
know  of  this  decision  of  the  Governor's  ?  " 

"  Ay,  and  a  fine  passion  it  put  him  into.  Stormed 
and  swore  and  threatened,  and  put  the  Governor's 
back  up  finely.  It  seems  that  he  thought  to  'bout 
ship  to-morrow,  lady  and  all.  He  ref  useth  to  go  with 
out  the  lady,  and  so  remaineth  in  Virginia  until  he 
can  have  his  will.  Lord !  but  Buckingham  would  be 
a  happy  man  if  he  were  kept  here  forever  and  a  day ! 
My  lord  knows  what  he  risks,  and  he 's  in  as  black  a 
humor  as  ever  you  saw.  But  I  have  striven  to  drop 
oil  on  the  troubled  waters.  '  My  lord,'  I  told  him, 
4  you  have  but  to  possess  your  soul  with  patience  for 
a  few  short  weeks,  just  until  the  ship  the  Governor 
sends  can  return.  Then  all  must  needs  be  as  your 
lordship  wishes.  In  the  meantime,  you  may  find  ex 
istence  in  these  wilds  and  away  from  that  good  com 
pany  which  is  the  soul  of  life  endurable,  and  perhaps 
pleasant.  You  may  have  daily  sight  of  the  lady  who 
is  to  become  your  wife,  and  that  should  count  for 
much  with  so  ardent  and  determined  a  lover  as  your 
lordship  hath  shown  yourself  to  be.  You  may  have 
the  pleasure  of  contemplating  your  rival's  grave,  if 
you  kill  him.  If  he  kills  you,  you  will  care  the  less 
about  the  date  of  the  Santa  Teresa's  sailing.  The 
land,  too,  hath  inducements  to  offer  to  a  philosophi 
cal  and  contemplative  mind  such  as  one  whom  his 
Majesty  delighteth  to  honor  must  needs  possess.  Be 
side  these  crystal  rivers  and  among  these  odoriferous 
woods,  my  lord,  one  escapes  much  expense,  envy,  con 
tempt,  vanity,  and  vexation  of  mind.'  ' 

The  hoary  sinner  laughed  and  laughed.     When  he 


IN  WHICH  TWO  DRINK  OF  ONE  CUP         91 

had  gone  away,  still  in  huge  enjoyment  of  his  own 
mirth,  I,  who  had  seen  small  cause  for  mirth,  went 
slowly  indoors.  Not  a  yard  from  the  door,  in  the 
shadow  of  the  vines  that  draped  the  window,  stood  the 
woman  who  was  bringing  this  fate  upon  me. 

"  I  thought  that  you  were  in  your  own  room,"  I 
said  harshly,  after  a  moment  of  dead  silence. 

"  I  came  to  the  window,"  she  replied.  "  I  listened. 
I  heard  all."  She  spoke  haltingly,  through  dry  lips. 
Her  face  was  as  white  as  her  ruff,  but  a  strange  light 
burned  in  her  eyes,  and  there  was  no  trembling. 
"  This  morning  you  said  that  all  that  you  had  —  your 
name  and  your  sword  —  were  at  my  service.  You 
may  take  them  both  again,  sir.  I  refuse  the  aid  you 
offer.  Swear  what  you  will,  tell  them  what  you 
please,  make  your  peace  whilst  you  may.  I  will  not 
have  your  blood  upon  my  soul." 

There  was  yet  wine  upon  the  table.  I  filled  a  cup 
and  brought  it  to  her.  "  Drink !  "  I  commanded. 

"  I  have  much  of  forbearance,  much  of  courtesy, 
to  thank  you  for,"  she  said.  "  I  will  remember  it 
when  —  Do  not  think  that  I  shall  blame  you  "  — 

I  held  the  cup  to  her  lips.  "  Drink !  "  I  repeated. 
She  touched  the  red  wine  with  her  lips.  I  took  it 
from  her  and  put  it  to  my  own.  "  We  drink  of  the 
same  cup,"  I  said,  with  my  eyes  upon  hers,  and 
drained  it  to  the  bottom.  "  I  am  weary  of  swords 
and  courts  and  kings.  Let  us  go  into  the  garden  and 
watch  the  minister's  bees." 


CHAPTER  X 

IN   WHICH    MASTER   PORT   GAINS   TIME   TO    SOME 
PURPOSE 

KOLFE,  coming  down  by  boat  from  Varina,  had 
reached  the  town  in  the  dusk  of  that  day  which  had 
seen  the  arrival  of  the  Santa  Teresa,  and  I  had  gone 
to  him  before  I  slept  that  night.  Early  morning 
found  us  together  again  in  the  field  behind  the  church. 
We  had  not  long  to  wait  in  the  chill  air  and  dew- 
drenched  grass.  When  the  red  rim  of  the  sun  showed 
like  a  fire  between  the  trunks  of  the  pines  came  my 
Lord  Carnal,  and  with  him  Master  Pory  and  Dr. 
Lawrence  JBohun. 

My  lord  and  I  bowed  to  each  other  profoundly. 
Eolfe  with  my  sword  and  Master  Pory  with  my  lord's 
stepped  aside  to  measure  the  blades.  Dr.  Bohun, 
muttering  something  about  the  feverislmess  of  the 
early  air,  wrapped  his  cloak  about  him,  and  huddled 
in  among  the  roots  of  a  gigantic  cedar.  I  stood  with 
my  back  to  the  church,  and  my  face  to  the  red  water 
between  us  and  the  illimitable  forest ;  my  lord  oppo 
site  me,  six  feet  away.  He  was  dressed  again  splen 
didly  in  black  and  scarlet,  colors  he  much  affected, 
and,  with  the  dark  beauty  of  his  face  and  the  arro 
gant  grace  with  which  he  stood  there  waiting  for  his 
sword,  made  a  picture  worth  looking  upon. 

Rolfe  and  the  Secretary  came  back  to  us.  "  If  you 
kill  him,  Ralph,"  said  the  former  in  a  low  voice,  as 


IN   WHICH  MASTER  PORY  GAINS  TIME       93 

he  took  my  doublet  from  me,  "  you  are  to  put  your- 
self  in  my  hands  and  do  as  you  are  bid." 

"  Which  means  that  you  will  try  to  smuggle  me 
north  to  the  Dutch.  Thanks,  friend,  but  I  '11  see  the 
play  out  here." 

"You  were  ever  obstinate,  self-willed,  reckless  — 
and  the  man  most  to  my  heart,"  he  continued.  "  Have 
your  way,  in  God's  name,  but  I  wish  not  to  see  what 
will  come  of  it !  All 's  ready,  Master  Secretary." 

Very  slowly  that  worthy  stooped  down  and  exam 
ined  the  ground,  narrowly  and  quite  at  his  leisure. 
"  I  like  it  not,  Master  Rolfe,"  he  declared  at  length. 
"  Here  is  a  molehill,  and  there  a  fairy  ring." 

"  I  see  neither,"  said  Rolfe.  "  It  looks  as  smooth 
as  a  table.  But  we  can  easily  shift  under  the  cedars 
where  there  is  no  grass." 

"  Here  's  a  projecting  root,"  announced  the  Secre 
tary,  when  the  new  ground  had  been  reached. 

Rolfe  shrugged  his  shoulders,  but  we  moved  again. 

"  The  light  comes  jaggedly  through  the  branches," 
objected  my  lord's  second.  "Better  try  the  open 
again." 

Rolfe  uttered  an  exclamation  of  impatience,  and 
my  lord  stamped  his  foot  on  the  ground.  "  What  is 
this  foolery,  sir?"  the  latter  cried  fiercely.  "The 
ground  's  well  enough,  and  there  's  sufficient  light  to 
die  by." 

"  Let  the  light  pass,  then,"  said  his  second  resign 
edly.  "  Gentlemen,  are  you  read —  Ods  blood  !  my 
lord,  I  had  not  noticed  the  roses  upon  your  lordship's 
shoes !  They  are  so  large  and  have  such  a  fall  that 
they  sweep  the  ground  on  either  side  your  foot ;  you 
might  stumble  in  all  that  dangling  ribbon  and  lace. 
Allow  me  to  remove  them." 


94  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

He  unsheathed  his  knife,  and,  sinking  upon  his 
knees,  began  leisurely  to  sever  the  threads  that  held 
the  roses  to  the  leather.  As  he  worked,  he  looked 
neither  at  the  roses  nor  at  my  lord's  angry  face,  but 
beneath  his  own  bent  arm  toward  the  church  and  the 
town  beyond. 

How  long  he  would  have  sawed  away  at  the  threads 
there  is  no  telling ;  for  my  lord,  amongst  whose  virtues 
patience  was  not  one,  broke  from  him,  and  with  an 
oath  stooped  and  tore  away  the  offending  roses  with 
his  own  hand,  then  straightened  himself  "and  gripped 
his  sword  more  closely.  "  I  've  learned  one  thing  in 
this  d — d  land,"  he  snarled,  "and  that  is  where  not 
to  choose  a  second.  You,  sir,"  to  Rolfe,  "give  the 
word." 

Master  Pory  rose  'from  his  knees,  unruffled  and 
unabashed,  and  still  with  a  curiously  absent  expres 
sion  upon  his  fat  face  and  with  his  ears  cocked  in  the 
direction  of  the  church.  "  One  moment,  gentlemen," 
he  said.  "  I  have  just  bethought  me  "  — 

"  On  guard !  "  cried  Rolfe,  and  cut  him  short. 

The  King's  favorite  was  no  mean  antagonist.  Once 
or  twice  the  thought  crossed  my  mind  that  here,  where 
I  least  desired  it,  I  had  met  my  match.  The  appre 
hension  passed.  He  fought  as  he  lived,  with  a  fierce 
intensity,  a  headlong  passion,  a  brute  force,  bearing 
down  and  overwhelming  most  obstacles.  But  that  I 
could  tire  him  out  I  soon  knew. 

The  incessant  flash  and  clash  of  steel,  the  quick 
changes  in  position,  the  need  to  bring  all  powers  of 
body  and  mind  to  aid  of  eye  and  wrist,  the  will  to 
win,  the  shame  of  loss,  the  rage  and  lust  of  blood, 
- —  there  was  no  sight  or  sound  outside  that  trampled 
circle  that  could  force  itself  upon  our  brain  or  make 


IN  WHICH  MASTER  PORT  GAINS   TIME       95 

us  glance  aside.  If  there  was  a  sudden  commotion 
amongst  the  three  witnesses,  if  an  expression  of  im 
mense  relief  and  childlike  satisfaction  reigned  in 
Master  Pory's  face,  we  knew  it  not.  We  were  both 
bleeding,  —  I  from  a  pin  prick  on  the  shoulder,  he 
from  a  touch  beneath  the  arm.  He  made  a  desperate 
thrust,  which  I  parried,  and  the  blades  clashed.  A 
third  came  down  upon  them  with  such  force  that  the 
sparks  flew. 

"  In  the  King's  name  !  "  commanded  the  Governor. 

"We  fell  apart,  panting,  white  with  rage,  staring  at 
the  unexpected  disturbers  of  our  peace.  They  were 
the  Governor,  the  commander,  the  Cape  Merchant, 
and  the  watch. 

"Lord,  now  lettest  thou  thy  servant  depart  in 
peace !  "  exclaimed  Master  Pory,  and  retired  to  the 
cedar  and  Dr.  Bohun. 

"This  ends  here,  gentlemen,"  said  the  Governor 
firmly.  "  You  are  both  bleeding.  It  is  enough." 

"  Out  of  my  way,  sir !  "  cried  my  lord,  foaming  at 
the  mouth.  He  made  a  mad  thrust  over  the  Govern 
or's  extended  arm  at  me,  who  was  ready  enough  to 
meet  him.  "  Have  at  thee,  thou  bridegroom  !  "  he 
said  between  his  teeth. 

The  Governor  caught  him  by  the  »wrist.  "  Put  up 
your  sword,  my  lord,  or,  as  I  stand  here,  you  shall 
give  it  into  the  commander's  hands  !  " 

"  Hell  and  furies  !  "  ejaculated  my  lord.  "  Do  you 
know  who  I  am,  sir  ?  " 

"  Ay,"  replied  the  Governor  sturdily,  "  I  do  know. 
It  is  because  of  that  knowledge,  my  Lord  Carnal,  that 
I  interfere  in  this  affair.  Were  you  other  than  you 
are,  you  and  this  gentleman  might  fight  until  dooms 
day,  and  meet  with  no  hindrance  from  me.  Being 


96  TO  HAVE   AND  TO   HOLD 

what  you  are,  I  will  prevent  any  renewal  of  this  duel, 
by  fair  means  if  I  may,  by  foul  if  I  must." 

He  left  my  lord,  and  came  over  to  me.  "  Since 
when  have  you  been  upon  my  Lord  Warwick's  side, 
Ealph  Percy  ?  "  he  demanded,  lowering  his  voice. 

"  I  am  not  so,"  I  said. 

"  Then  appearances  are  mightily  deceitful,"  he  re 
torted. 

"  I  know  what  you  mean,  Sir  George,"  I  answered. 
"  I  know  that  if  the  King's  darling  should  meet  death 
or  maiming  in  this  fashion,  upon  Virginian  soil,  the 
Company,  already  so  out  of  favor,  might  find  some 
difficulty  in  explaining  things  to  his  Majesty's  satis 
faction.  But  I  think  my  Lord  Southampton  and  Sir 
Edwyn  Sandys  and  Sir  George  Yeardley  equal  to 
the  task,  especially  if  they  are  able  to  deliver  to  his 
Majesty  the  man  whom  his  Majesty  will  doubtless  con 
sider  the  true  and  only  rebel  and  murderer.  Let  us 
fight  it  out,  sir.  You  can  all  retire  to  a  distance  and 
remain  in  profound  ignorance  of  any  such  affair. 
If  I  fall,  you  have  nothing  to  fear.  If  he  falls, — 
why,  I  shall  not  run  away,  and  the  Due  Return  sails 
to-morrow." 

He  eyed  me  closely  from  under  frowning  brows. 

"  And  when  your  wife  's  a  widow,  what  then  ?  "  he 
asked  abruptly. 

I  have  not  known  many  better  men  than  this  simple, 
straightforward,  soldierly  Governor.  The  manliness 
of  his  character  begot  trust,  invited  confidence.  Men 
told  him  of  their  hidden  troubles  almost  against  their 
will,  and  afterward  felt  neither  shame  nor  fear,  know 
ing  the  simplicity  of  his  thoughts  and  the  reticence  of* 
his  speech.  I  looked  him  in  the  eyes,  and  let  him 
read  what  I  would  have  shown  to  no  other,  and  felt  no 


IN  WHICH  MASTER  PORY  GAINS  TIME       97 

shame.  "  The  Lord  may  raise  her  up  a  helper,"  I 
said.  "  At  least  she  won't  have  to  marry  him." 

He  turned  on  his  heel  and  moved  back  to  his 
former  station  between  us  two.  "  My  Lord  Carnal," 
he  said,  "  and  you,  Captain  Percy,  heed  what  I  say ; 
for  what  I  say  I  will  do.  You  may  take  your  choice  : 
either  you  will  sheathe  your  swords  here  in  my  pre 
sence,  giving  me  your  word  of  honor  that  you  will  not 
draw  them  upon  each  other  before  his  Majesty  shall 
have  made  known  his  will  in  this  matter  to  the  Com 
pany,  and  the  Company  shall  have  transmitted  it  to 
me,  in  token  of  which  truce  between  you  you  shall 
touch  each  other's  hands ;  or  you  will  pass  the  time 
between  this  and  the  return  of  the  ship  with  the  King's 
and  the  Company's  will  in  strict  confinement,  —  you, 
Captain  Percy,  in  gaol,  and  you,  my  Lord  Carnal,  in 
my  own  poor  house,  where  I  will  use  my  best  endea 
vors  to  make  the  days  pass  as  pleasantly  as  possible 
for  your  lordship.  I  have  spoken,  gentlemen." 

There  was  no  protest.  For  my  own  part,  I  knew 
Yeardley  too  well  to  attempt  any ;  moreover,  had  I 
been  in  his  place,  his  course  should  have  been  mine. 
For  my  Lord  Carnal,  —  what  black  thoughts  visited 
that  fierce  and  sullen  brain  I  know  not,  but  there  was 
acquiescence  in  his  face,  haughty,  dark,  and  vengeful 
though  it  was.  Slowly  and  as  with  one  motion  we 
sheathed  our  swords,  and  more  slowly  still  repeated 
the  few  words  after  the  Governor.  His  Honor's  coun 
tenance  shone  with  relief.  "  Take  each  other  by  the 
hand,  gentlemen,  and  then  let  's  all  to  breakfast  at 
my  own  house,  where  there  shall  be  no  feud  save  with 
good  capon  pasty  and  jolly  good  ale."  In  dead  silence 
my  lord  and  I  touched  each  other's  finger  tips. 

The  world  was  now  a  flood  of  sunshine,  the  mist  on 


98  TO   HAVE  AND   TO   HOLD 

the  river  vanishing,  the  birds  singing,  the  trees  waving 
in  the  pleasant  morning  air.  From  the  town  came 
the  roll  of  the  drum  summoning  all  to  the  week-day 
service.  The  bells  too  began  to  ring,  sounding  sweetly 
through  the  clear  air.  The  Governor  took  off  his  hat. 
"Let's  all  to  church,  gentlemen,"  he  said  gravely. 
"Our  cheeks  are  flushed  as  with  a  fever  and  our 
pulses  run  high  this  morning.  There  be  some  among 
us,  perhaps,  that  have  in  their  hearts  discontent,  anger, 
and  hatred.  I  know  no  better  place  to  take  such  pas 
sions,  provided  we  bring  them  not  forth  again." 

We  went  in  and  sat  down.  Jeremy  Sparrow  was 
in  the  pulpit.  Singly  or  in  groups  the  town  folk 
entered.  Down  the  aisle  strode  bearded  men,  old 
soldiers,  adventurers,  sailors,  scarred  body  and  soul ; 
young  men  followed,  younger  sons  and  younger  bro 
thers,  prodigals  whose  portion  had  been  spent,  whose 
souls  now  ate  of  the  husks ;  to  the  servants'  benches 
came  dull  laborers,  dimly  comprehending,  groping  in 
the  twilight ;  women  entered  softly  and  slowly,  some 
with  children  clinging  to  their  skirts.  One  came  alone 
and  knelt  alone,  her  face  shadowed  by  her  mantle. 
Amongst  the  servants  stood  a  slave  or  two,  blindly 
staring,  and  behind  them  all  one  of  that  felon  crew 
sent  us  by  the  King. 

Through  the  open  windows  streamed  the  summer 
sunshine,  soft  and  fragrant,  impartial  and  unquestion 
ing,  caressing  alike  the  uplifted  face  of  the  minister, 
the  head  of  the  convict,  and  all  between.  The  min 
ister's  voice  was  grave  and  tender  when  he  read  and 
prayed,  but  in  the  hymn  it  rose  above  the  people's 
like  the  voice  of  some  mighty  archangel.  That  tri 
umphant  singing  shook  the  air,  and  still  rang  in  the 
heart  while  we  said  the  Creed. 


IN  WHICH  MASTER  PORT  GAINS  TIME       99 

When  the  service  was  over,  the  congregation  waited 
for  the  Governor  to  pass  out  first.  At  the  door  he 
pressed  me  to  go  with  him  and  his  party  to  his  own 
house,  and  I  gave  him  thanks,  but  made  excuse  to  stay 
away.  When  he  and  the  nobleman  who  was  his  guest 
had  left  the  churchyard,  and  the  townspeople  too  were 
gone,  I  and  my  wife  and  the  minister  walked  home 
together  through  the  dewy  meadow,  with  the  splendor 
of  the  morning  about  us,  and  the  birds  caroling  from 
every  tree  and  thicket. 


CHAPTER   XI 

IN  WHICH   I   MEET   AN   ITALIAN   DOCTOR 

THE  summer  slipped  away,  and  autumn  came,  with 
the  purple  of  the  grape  and  the  yellowing  corn,  the 
nuts  within  the  forest,  and  the  return  of  the  countless 
wild  fowl  to  the  marshes  and  reedy  river  banks,  and 
still  I  stayed  in  Jamestown,  and  my  wife  with  me, 
and  still  the  Santa  Teresa  rode  at  anchor  in  the  river 
below  the  fort.  If  the  man  whom  she  brought  knew 
that  by  tarrying  in  Virginia  he  risked  his  ruin  with 
the  King,  yet,  with  a  courage  worthy  of  a  better 
cause,  he  tarried. 

Now  and  then  ships  came  in,  but  they  were  small, 
belated  craft.  The  most  had  left  England  before  the 
sailing  of  the  Santa  Teresa  ;  the  rest,  private  ventures, 
trading  for  clapboard  or  sassafras,  knew  nothing  of 
court  affairs.  Only  the  Sea  Flower,  sailing  from 
London  a  fortnight  after  the  Santa  Teresa,  and  much 
delayed  by  adverse  winds,  brought  a  letter  from  the 
deputy  treasurer  to  Yeardley  and  the  Council.  From 
Kolfe  I  learned  its  contents.  It  spoke  of  the  stir  that 
was  made  by  the  departure  from  the  realm  of  the 
King's  favorite.  "  None  know  where  he  hath  gone. 
The  King  looks  dour;  't  is  hinted  that  the  privy  coun 
cil  are  as  much  at  sea  as  the  rest  of  the  world ;  my 
Lord  of  Buckingham  saith  nothing,  but  his  following 
—  which  of  late  hath  somewhat  decayed  —  is  so  in 
creased  that  his  antechambers  cannot  hold  the  throngs 


IN  WHICH  I  MEET  AN   ITALIAN  DOCTOR    101 

that  come  to  wait  upon  him.  Some  will  have  it  that 
my  Lord  Carnal  hath  fled  the  kingdom  to  escape  the 
Tower ;  others,  that  the  King  hath  sent  him  on  a  mis 
sion  to  the  King  of  Spain  about  this  detested  Spanish 
match ;  others,  that  the  gadfly  hath  stung  him  and  he 
is  gone  to  America,  —  to  search  for  Kaleigh's  gold 
mine,  maybe.  This  last  most  improbable ;  but  if  't  is 
so,  and  he  should  touch  at  Virginia,  receive  him  with 
all  honor.  If  indeed  he  is  not  out  of  favor,  the  Com 
pany  may  find  in  him  a  powerful  friend  ;  of  powerful 
enemies,  God  knows,  there  is  no  lack !  " 

Thus  the  worthy  Master  Ferrar.  And  at  the  bot 
tom  of  the  letter,  among  other  news  of  city  and  court, 
mention  was  made  of  the  disappearance  of  a  ward  of 
the  King's,  the  Lady  Jocelyn  Leigh.  Strict  search 
had  been  made,  but  the  unfortunate  lady  had  not  been 
found.  "  'T  is  whispered  that  she  hath  killed  herself  • 
also,  that  his  Majesty  had  meant  to  give  her  in  mar 
riage  to  my  Lord  Carnal.  But  that  all  true  love  and 
virtue  and  constancy  have  gone  from  the  age,  one 
might  conceive  that  the  said  lord  had  but  fled  the 
court  for  a  while,  to  indulge  his  grief  in  some  solitude 
of  hill  and  stream  and  shady  vale,  —  the  lost*  lady 
being  right  worthy  of  such  dole." 

In  sooth  she  was,  but  my  lord  was  not  given  to  such 
fashion  of  mourning. 

The  summer  passed,  and  I  did  nothing.  What 
was  there  I  could  do?  I  had  written  by  the  Due 
Return  to  Sir  Edwyn,  and  to  my  cousin,  the  Earl 
of  Northumberland.  The  King  hated  Sir  Edwyn^as 
he  hated  tobacco  and  witchcraft.  "  Choose  the  devil, 
but  not  Sir  Edwyn  Sandys !  "  had  been  his  passionate 
words  to  the  Company  the  year  before.  A  certain 
fifth  of  November  had  despoiled  my  Lord  of  Northum- 


102  TO  HAVE  AND  TO   HOLD 

berland  of  wealth,  fame,  and  influence.  Small  hope 
there  was  in  those  two.  That  the  Governor  and 
Council,  remembering  old  dangers  shared,  wished  me 
well  I  did  not  doubt,  but  that  was  all.  Yeardley  had 
done  all  he  could  do,  more  than  most  men  would  have 
dared  to  do,  in  procuring  this  delay.  There  was  no 
further  help  in  him ;  nor  would  I  have  asked  it.  Al 
ready  out  of  favor  with  the  Warwick  faction,  he  had 
risked  enough  for  me  and  mine.  I  could  not  flee 
with  my  wife  to  the  Indians,  exposing  her,  perhaps, 
to  a  death  by  fierce  tortures ;  moreover,  Opechanca- 
nough  had  of  late  strangely  taken  to  returning  to  the 
settlements  those  runaway  servants  and  fugitives  from 
justice  which  before  we  had  demanded  from  him  in 
vain.  If  even  it  had  been  possible  to  run  the  gaunt 
let  of  the  Indian  villages,  war  parties,  and  hunting 
bands,  what  would  have  been  before  us  but  endless 
forest  and  a  winter  which  for  us  would  have  had  no 
spring  ?  I  could  not  see  her  die  of  hunger  and  cold, 
or  by  the  teeth  of  the  wolves.  I  could  not  do  what 
I  should  have  liked  to  do,  —  take,  single-handed,  that 
King's  ship  with  its  sturdy  crew  and  sail  with  her 
south  and  ever  southwards,  before  us  nothing  more 
formidable  than  Spanish  ships,  and  beyond  them  blue 
waters,  spice  winds,  new  lands,  strange  islands  of  the 
blest. 

There  seemed  naught  that  I  could  do,  naught  that 
she  could  do.  Our  Fate  had  us  by  the  hands,  and 
held  us  fast.  We  stood  still,  and  the  days  came  and 
went  like  dreams. 

While  the  Assembly  was  in  session  I  had  my  part 
to  act  as  Burgess  from  my  hundred.  Each  day  I 
sat  with  my  fellows  in  the  church,  facing  the  Gov 
ernor  in  his  great  velvet  chair,  the  Council  on  either 


IN  WHICH  I  MEET  AN  ITALIAN  DOCTOR    103 

hand,  and  listened  to  the  droning  of  old  Twine,  the 
clerk,  like  the  droning  of  the  bees  without  the  win 
dow  ;  to  the  chant  of  the  sergeant-at-arms  ;  to  long 
and  windy  discourses  from  men  who  planted  better 
than  they  spoke  ;  to  remarks  by  the  Secretary,  witty, 
crammed  with  Latin  and  traveled  talk ;  to  the  Gov 
ernor's  slow,  weighty  words.  At  Weyanoke  we  had 
had  trouble  with  the  Indians.  I  was  one  who  loved 
them  not  and  had  fought  them  well,  for  which  rea 
son  the  hundred  chose  me  its  representative.  In  the 
Assembly  it  was  my  part  to  urge  a  greater  severity 
toward  those  our  natural  enemies,  a  greater  watch 
fulness  on  our  part,  the  need  for  palisades  and  senti 
nels,  the  danger  that  lay  in  their  acquisition  of  fire 
arms,  which,  in  defiance  of  the  law,  men  gave  them 
in  exchange  for  worthless  Indian  commodities.  This 
Indian  business  was  the  chief  matter  before  the  As 
sembly.  I  spoke  when  I  thought  speech  was  needed, 
and  spoke  strongly ;  for  my  heart  foreboded  that 
which  was  to  come  upon  us  too  soon  and  too  surely. 
The  Governor  listened  gravely,  nodding  his  head  ; 
Master  Pory,  too,  the  Cape  Merchant,  and  West  were 
of  my  mind  ;  but  the  remainder  were  besotted  by 
their  own  conceit,  esteeming  the  very  name  of  Eng 
lishman  sentinel  and  palisade  enough,  or  trusting  in 
the  smooth  words  and  vows  of  brotherhood  poured 
forth  so  plentifully  by  that  red  Apollyon,  Opechan- 
canough. 

When  the  day's  work  was  done,  and  we  streamed 
out  of  the  church,  —  the  Governor  and  Council  first, 
the  rest  of  us  in  order,  —  it  was  to  find  as  often  as 
not  a  red  and  black  figure  waiting  for  us  among  the 
graves.  Sometimes  it  joined  itself  to  the  Governor, 
sometimes  to  Master  Pory ;  sometimes  the  whole  party, 


104  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

save  one,  went  off  with  it  to  the  guest  house,  there  to 
eat,  drink,  and  make  merry. 

If  Virginia  and  all  that  it  contained,  save  only  that 
jewel  of  which  it  had  robbed  the  court,  were  out  of 
favor  with  the  King's  minion,  he  showed  it  not.  Per 
haps  he  had  accepted  the  inevitable  with  a  good 
grace  ;  perhaps  it  was  but  his  mode  of  biding  his 
time ;  but  he  had  shifted  into  that  soldierly  frankness 
of  speech  and  manner,  that  genial,  hail-fellow-well- 
met  air,  behind  which  most  safely  hides  a  villain's 
mind.  Two  days  after  that  morning  behind  the 
church,  he  had  removed  himself,  his  French  valets, 
and  his  Italian  physician  from  the  Governor's  house 
to  the  newly  finished  guest  house.  Here  he  lived, 
cock  of  the  walk,  taking  his  ease  in  his  inn,  elbowing 
out  all  guests  save  those  of  his  own  inviting.  If, 
what  with  his  open  face  and  his  open  hand,  his  din 
ners  and  bear-baitings  and  hunting  parties,  his  tales 
of  the  court  and  the  wars,  his  half  hints  as  to  the 
good  he  might  do  Virginia  with  the  King,  extending 
even  to  the  lightening  of  the  tax  upon  our  tobacco 
and  the  prohibition  of  the  Spanish  import,  his  known 
riches  and  power,  and  the  unknown  height  to  which 
they  might  attain  if  his  star  at  court  were  indeed  in 
the  ascendant,  —  if  with  these  things  he  slowly,  but 
surely,  won  to  his  following  all  save  a  very  few  of 
those  I  had  thought  my  fast  friends,  it  was  not  a  thing 
marvelous  or  without  precedent.  Upon  his  side  was 
good  that  might  be  seen  and  handled  ;  on  mine  was 
only  a  dubious  right  and  a  not  at  all  dubious  danger. 
I  do  not  think  it  plagued  me  much.  The  going  of 
those  who  had  it  in  their  heart  to  wish  to  go  left 
me  content,  and  for  those  who  fawned  upon  him  from 
the  first,  or  for  the  rabble  multitude  who  flung  up 


IN  WHICH  I  MEET  AN  ITALIAN  DOCTOR    105 

their  caps  and  ran  at  his  heels,  I  cared  not  a  doit. 
There  were  still  Eolfe  and  West  and  the  Governor, 
Jeremy  Sparrow  and  Diccon. 

My  lord  and  I  met,  perforce,  in  the  street,  at  the 
Governor's  house,  in  church,  on  the  river,  in  the  sad 
dle.  If  we  met  in  the  presence  of  others,  we  spoke 
the  necessary  formal  words  of  greeting  or  leave-tak 
ing,  and  he  kept  his  countenance ;  if  none  were  by, 
off  went  the  mask.  The  man  himself  and  I  looked 
each  other  in  the  eyes  and  passed  on.  Once  we  en 
countered  on  a  late  evening  among  the  graves,  and  I 
was  not  alone.  Mistress  Percy  had  been  restless,  and 
had  gone,  despite  the  minister's  protests,  to  sit  upon 
the  river  bank.  When  I  returned  from  the  assembly 
and  found  her  gone,  I  went  to  fetch  her.  A  storm 
was  rolling  slowly  up.  Returning  the  long  way  through 
the  churchyard,  we  came  upon  him  sitting  beside  a 
sunken  grave,  his  knees  drawn  up  to  meet  his  chin, 
his  eyes  gloomily  regardful  of  the  dark  broad  river, 
the  unseen  ocean,  and  the  ship  that  could  not  return 
for  weeks  to  come.  We  passed  him  in  silence,  —  I 
with  a  slight  bow,  she  with  a  slighter  curtsy.  An 
hour  later,  going  down  the  street  in  the  dusk  of  the 
storm,  I  ran  against  Dr.  Lawrence  Bohun.  "  Don't 
stop  me  !  "  he  panted.  "  The  Italian  doctor  is  away 
in  the  woods  gathering  simples,  and  they  found  my 
Lord  Carnal  in  a  fit  among  the  graves,  half  an  hour 
agone."  My  lord  was  bled,  and  the  next  morning 
went  hunting. 

The  lady  whom  I  had  married  abode  with  me  in  the 
minister's  house,  held  her  head  high,  and  looked  the 
world  in  the  face.  She  seldom  went  from  home,  but 
when  she  did  take  the  air  it  was  with  pomp  and  cir 
cumstance.  When  that  slender  figure  and  exquisite 


106  TO  HAVE  AND   TO   HOLD 

face,  set  off  by  as  rich  apparel  as  could  be  bought 
from  a  store  of  finery  brought  in  by  the  Southampton, 
and  attended  by  a  turbaned  negress  and  a  serving 
man  who  had  been  to  the  wars,  and  had  escaped  the 
wheel  by  the  skin  of  his  teeth,  appeared  in  the  street, 
small  wonder  if  a  greater  commotion  arose  than  had 
been  since  the  days  of  the  Princess  Pocahontas  and 
her  train  of  dusky  beauties.  To  this  fairer,  more 
imperial  dame  gold  lace  doffed  its  hat  and  made  its 
courtliest  bow,  and  young  planters  bent  to  their  sad 
dlebows,  while  the  common  folk  nudged  and  stared 
and  had  their  say.  The  beauty,  the  grace,  the  pride, 
that  deigned  small  response  to  well-meant  words,  — 
all  that  would  have  been  intolerable  in  plain  Mistress 
Perc}r,  once  a  waiting  maid,  then  a  piece  of  merchan 
dise  to  be  sold  for  one  hundred  and  twenty  pounds 
of  tobacco,  then  the  wife  of  a  poor  gentleman,  was 
pardoned  readily  enough  to  the  Lady  Jocelyn  Leigh, 
the  ward  of  the  King,  the  bride  to  be  (so  soon  as 
the  King's  Court  of  High  Commission  should  have 
snapped  in  twain  an  inconvenient  and  ill-welded  fet 
ter)  of  the  King's  minion. 

So  she  passed  like  a  splendid  vision  through  the 
street  perhaps  once  a  week.  On  Sundays  she  went 
with  me  to  church,  and  the  people  looked  at  her 
instead  of  at  the  minister,  who  rebuked  them  not, 
because  his  eyes  were  upon  the  same  errand. 

The  early  autumn  passed  and  the  leaves  began 
to  turn,  and  still  all  things  were  as  they  had  been, 
save  that  the  Assembly  sat  no  longer.  My  fellow  Bur-  * 
gesses  went  back  to  their  hundreds,  but  my  house  at 
Weyanoke  knew  me  no  more.  In  a  tone  that  was 
apologetic,  but  firm,  the  Governor  had  told  me  that 
he  wished  my  company  at  Jamestown.  I  was  pleased 


IN  WHICH  I  MEET  AN  ITALIAN  DOCTOR    107 

enough  to  stay,  I  assured  him,  —  as  indeed  I  was.  At 
Weyanoke,  the  thunderbolt  would  fall  without  warn 
ing  ;  at  Jamestown,  at  least  I  could  see,  coming  up 
the  river,  the  sails  of  the  Due  Return  or  what  other 
ship  the  Company  might  send. 

The  color  of  the  leaves  deepened,  and  there  came  a 
season  of  a  beauty  singular  and  sad,  like  a  smile  left 
upon  the  face  of  the  dead  summer.  Over  all  things, 
near  and  far,  the  forest  where  it  met  the  sky,  the 
nearer  woods,  the  great  river,  and  the  streams  that 
empty  into  it,  there  hung  a  blue  haze,  soft  and  dream 
like.  The  forest  became  a  painted  forest,  with  an 
ever  thinning  canopy  and  an  ever  thickening  carpet 
of  crimson  and  gold ;  everywhere  there  was  a  low 
rustling  underfoot  and  a  slow  rain  of  color.  It  was 
neither  cold  nor  hot,  but  very  quiet,  and  the  birds 
went  by  like  shadows,  —  a  listless  and  forgetful 
weather,  in  which  we  began  to  look,  every  hour  of 
every  day,  for  the  sail  which  we  knew  we  should  not 
see  for  weeks  to  come. 

Good  Master  Bucke  tarried  with  Master  Thorpe  at 
Henricus,  recruiting  his  strength,  and  Jeremy  Spar 
row  preached  in  his  pulpit,  slept  in  his  chamber,  and 
worked  in  his  garden.  This  garden  ran  down  to  the 
green  bank  of  the  river ;  and  here,  sitting  idly  by  the 
stream,  her  chin  in  her  hand  and  her  dark  eyes  watch 
ing  the  strong,  free  sea  birds  as  they  came  and  went, 
I  found  my  wife  one  evening,  as  I  came  from  the  fort, 
where  had  been  some  martial  exercise.  Thirty  feet 
away  Master  Jeremy  Sparrow  worked  among  the  dy 
ing  flowers,  and  hummed :  — 

"  There  is  a  garden  in  her  face, 
Where  roses  and  white  lilies  grow." 

He  and  I  had  agreed  that  when  I  must  needs  be  ab- 


108  TO   HAVE  AND  TO   HOLD 

sent  he  should  be  within  call  of  her  ;  for  I  believed 
my  Lord  Carnal  very  capable  of  intruding  himself 
into  her  presence.  That  house  and  garden,  her  move 
ments  and  mine,  were  spied  upon  by  his  foreign  hire 
lings,  I  knew  perfectly  well. 

As  I  sat  down  upon  the  bank  at  her  feet,  she  turned 
to  me  with  a  sudden  passion.  "  I  am  weary  of  it  all !  " 
she  cried.  "  I  am  tired  of  being  pent  up  in  this  house 
and  garden,  and  of  the  watch  you  keep  upon  me. 
And  if  I  go  abroad,  it  is  worse  !  I  hate  all  those 
shameless  faces  that  stare  at  me  as  if  I  were  in  the 
pillory.  I  am  pilloried  before  you  all,  and  I  find  the 
experience  sufficiently  bitter.  And  when  I  think  that 
that  man  whom  I  hate,  hate,  hate,  breathes  the  air 
that  I  breathe,  it  stifles  me !  If  I  could  fly  away  like 
those  birds,  if  I  could  only  be  gone  from  this  place 
for  even  a  day  !  " 

"  I  would  beg  leave  to  take  you  home,  to  Weya- 
noke,"  I  said  after  a  pause,  "but  I  cannot  go  and 
leave  the  field  to  him." 

"  And  I  cannot  go,"  she  answered.  "  I  must  watch 
for  that  ship  and  that  King's  command  that  my  Lord 
Carnal  thinks  potent  enough  to  make  me  his  wife. 
King's  commands  are  strong,  but  a  woman's  will  is 
stronger.  At  the  last  I  shall  know  what  to  do.  But 
now  why  may  I  not  take  Angela  and  cross  that  strip 
of  sand  and  go  into  the  woods  on  the  other  side? 
They  are  so  fair  and  strange,  —  all  red  and  yellow,  — 
and  they  look  very  still  and  peaceful.  I  could  walk 
in  them,  or  lie  down  under  the  trees  and  forget 
awhile,  and  they  are  not  at  all  far  away."  She  looked 
at  me  eagerly. 

"  You  could  not  go  alone,"  I  told  her.  "  There 
would  be  danger  in  that.  But  to-morrow,  if  you 


IN  WHICH  I  MEET  AN  ITALIAN  DOCTOR    109 

choose,  I  and  Master  Sparrow  and  Diccon  will  take 
you  there.  A  day  in  the  woods  is  pleasant  enough, 
and  will  do  none  of  us  harm.  Then  you  may  wander 
as  you  please,  fill  your  arms  with  colored  leaves,  and 
forget  the  world.  We  will  watch  that  no  harm  comes 
nigh  you,  but  otherwise  you  shall  not  be  disturbed." 

She  broke  into  delighted  laughter.  Of  all  women 
the  most  steadfast  of  soul,  her  outward  moods  were 
as  variable  as  a  child's.  "  Agreed ! "  she  cried. 
"  You  and  the  minister  and  Diccon  Demon  shall  lay 
your  muskets  across  your  knees,  and  Angela  shall 
witch  you  into  stone  with  her  old,  mad,  heathen 
charms.  And  then  —  and  then  —  I  will  gather  more 
gold  than  had  King  Midas ;  I  will  dance  with  the 
hamadryads  ;  I  will  find  out  Oberon  and  make  Titania 
jealous !  " 

"  I  do  not  doubt  that  you  could  do  so,"  I  said,  as 
she  sprang  to  her  feet,  childishly  eager  and  radiantly 
beautiful. 

I  rose  to  go  in  with  her,  for  it  was  supper  time,  but 
in  a  moment  changed  my  mind,  and  resumed  my  seat 
on  the  bank  of  turf.  "  Do  you  go  in,"  I  said. 
"  There 's  a  snake  near  by,  in  those  bushes  below  the 
bank.  I  '11  kill  the  creature,  and  then  I  '11  come  to 
supper." 

When  she  was  gone,  I  walked  to  where,  ten  feet 
away,  the  bank  dipped  to  a  clump  of  reeds  and  willows 
planted  in  the  mud  on  the  brink  of  the  river.  Drop 
ping  on  my  knees  I  leaned  over,  and,  grasping  a  man 
by  the  collar,  lifted  him  from  the  slime  where  he 
belonged  to  the  bank  beside  me. 

It  was  my  Lord  Carnal's  Italian  doctor  that  I  had 
so  fished  up.  I  had  seen  him  before,  and  had  found 
in  his  very  small,  mean  figure  clad  all  in  black,  and 


110  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

his  narrow  face  with  malignant  eyes,  and  thin  white 
lips  drawn  tightly  over  gleaming  teeth,  something 
infinitely  repulsive,  sickening  to  the  sight  as  are  cer 
tain  reptiles  to  the  touch. 

"  There  are  no  simples  or  herbs  of  grace  to  be 
found  amongst  reeds  and  half-drowned  willows,"  I 
said.  "  What  did  so  learned  a  doctor  look  for  in  so 
unlikely  a  place  ?  " 

He  shrugged  his  shoulders  and  made  play  with  his 
clawlike  hands,  as  if  he  understood  me  not.  It  was 
a  lie,  for  I  knew  that  he  and  the  English  tongue  were 
sufficiently  acquainted.  I  told  him  as  much,  and  he 
shot  at  me  a  most  venomous  glance,  but  continued  to 
shrug,  gesticulate,  and  jabber  in  Italian.  At  last  I 
saw  nothing  better  to  do  than  to  take  him,  still  by  the 
collar,  to  the  edge  of  the  garden  next  the  churchyard, 
and  with  the  toe  of  my  boot  to  send  him  tumbling 
among  the  graves.  I  watched  him  pick  himself  up, 
set  his  attire  to  rights,  and  go  away  in  the  gathering 
dusk,  winding  in  and  out  among  the  graves  ;  and  then 
I  went  in  to  supper,  and  told  Mistress  Percy  that  the 
snake  was  dead. 


CHAPTER  XII 

IN    WHICH    I    KECEIVE    A  WARNING    AND    REPOSE   A 
TRUST 

SHORTLY  before  daybreak  I  was  wakened  by  a  voice 
beneath  my  window.  "  Captain  Percy,"  it  cried,  "  the 
Governor  wishes  you  at  his  house  !  "  and  was  gone. 

I  dressed  and  left  the  house,  disturbing  no  one. 
Hurrying  through  the  chill  dawn,  I  reached  the  square 
not  much  behind  the  rapid  footsteps  of  the  watch 
who  had  wakened  me.  About  the  Governor's  door 
were  horses,  saddled  and  bridled,  with  grooms  at  their 
heads,  men  and  beasts  gray  and  indistinct,  wrapped 
in  the  fog.  I  went  up  the  steps  and  into  the  hall, 
and  knocked  at  the  door  of  the  Governor's  great 
room.  It  opened,  and  I  entered  to  find  Sir  George, 
with  Master  Pory,  Eolfe,  West,  and  others  of  the 
Council  gathered  about  the  great  centre  table  and 
talking  eagerly.  The  Governor  was  but  half  dressed  ; 
West  and  Rolfe  were  in  jack  boots  and  coats  of  mail. 
A  man,  breathless  with  hard  riding,  spattered  with 
swamp  mud  and  torn  by  briers,  stood,  cap  in  hand, 
staring  from  one  to  the  other. 

"  In  good  time,  Captain  Percy ! "  cried  the  Gov 
ernor.  "  Yesterday  you  called  the  profound  peace 
with  the  Indians,  of  which  some  of  us  boasted,  the  lull 
before  the  storm.  Faith,  it  looks  to-day  as  though 
you  were  in  the  right,  after  all !  " 

"  What 's  the  matter,  sir  ?  "  I  asked,  advancing  to 
the  table, 


112  TO  HAVE  AND  TO   HOLD 

"  Matter  enough !  "  he  answered.  "  This  man  has 
come,  post  haste,  from  the  plantations  above  Paspa- 
hegh.  Three  days  ago,  Morgan,  the  trader,  was  de 
coyed  into  the  woods  by  that  Paspahegh  fool  and  bully, 
Nemattanow,  whom  they  call  Jack  of  the  Feather, 
and  there  murdered.  Yesterday,  out  of  sheer  bravado, 
the  Indian  turned  up  at  Morgan's  house,  and  Mor 
gan's  men  shot  him  down.  They  buried  the  dog,  and 
thought  no  more  of  it.  Three  hours  ago,  Chanco  the 
Christian  went  to  the  commander  and  warned  him 
that  the  Paspaheghs  were  in  a  ferment,  and  that  the 
warriors  were  painting  themselves  black.  The  com 
mander  sent  off  at  once  to  me,  and  I  see  naught  better 
to  do  than  to  dispatch  you  with  a  dozen  men  to  bring 
them  to  their  senses.  But  there  's  to  be  no  harrying 
nor  battle.  A  show  of  force  is  all  that 's  needed,  — 
I  '11  stake  my  head  upon  it.  Let  them  see  that  we 
are  not  to  be  taken  unawares,  but  give  them  fail- 
words.  That  they  may  be  the  sooner  placated  I  send 
with  you  Master  Rolf e,  —  they  '11  listen  to  him.  See 
that  the  black  paint  is  covered  with  red,  give  them 
some  beads  and  a  knife  or  two,  then  come  home.  If 
you  like  not  the  look  of  things,  find  out  where 
Opechancanough  is,  and  I'll  send  him  an  embassy. 
He  loves  us  well,  and  will  put  down  any  disaffection." 

"  There 's  no  doubt  that  he  loves  us,"  I  said  dryly. 
"  He  loves  us  as  a  cat  loves  the  mouse  that  it  plays 
with.  If  we  are  to  start  at  once,  sir,  I  '11  go  get  my 
horse." 

"  Then  meet  us  at  the  neck  of  land,"  said  Rolfe. 

I  nodded,  and  left  the  room.  As  I  descended  the 
steps  into  the  growing  light  outside,  I  found  Master 
Pory  at  my  side. 

"  I  kept  late  hours  last  night,"  he  remarked,  with  a 


IN  WHICH  I  RECEIVE  A  WARNING         113 

portentous  yawn.  "  Now  that  this  business  is  settled, 
I '11  go  back  to  bed." 

I  walked  on  in  silence. 

"  I  am  in  your  black  books,"  he  continued,  with 
his  sly,  merry,  sidelong  glance.  "  You  think  that  I 
was  overcareful  of  the  ground,  that  morning  behind 
the  church,  and  so  unfortunately  delayed  matters 
until  the  Governor  happened  by  and  brought  things 
to  another  guess  conclusion." 

"  I  think  that  you  warned  the  Governor,"  I  said 
bluntly. 

He  shook  with  laughter.  "Warned  him?  Of 
course  I  warned  him.  Youth  would  never  have  seen 
that  molehill  and  fairy  ring  and  projecting  root,  but 
wisdom  cometh  with  gray  hairs,  my  son.  D'  ye  not 
think  I  '11  have  the  King's  thanks  ?  " 

"  Doubtless,"  I  answered.  "  An  the  price  contents 
you,  I  do  not  know  why  I  should  quarrel  with  it." 

By  this  we  were  halfway  down  the  street,  and  we 
now  came  upon  the  guest  house.  A*  window  above 
us  was  unshuttered,  and  in  the  room  within  a  light 
still  burned.  Suddenly  it  was  extinguished.  A  man's 
face  looked  down  upon  us  for  a  moment,  then  drew 
back ;  a  skeleton  hand  was  put  out  softly  and  slowly, 
and  the  shutter  drawn  to.  Hand  and  face  belonged 
to  the  man  I  had  sent  tumbling  among  the  graves  the 
evening  before. 

"  The  Italian  doctor,"  said  Master  Pory. 

There  was  something  peculiar  in  his  tone.  I 
glanced  at  him,  but  his  broad  red  face  and  twin 
kling  eyes  told  me  nothing.  "  The  Italian  doctor," 
he  repeated.  "If  I  had  a  friend  in  Captain  Percy's 
predicament,  I  should  bid  him  beware  of  the  Italian 
doctor." 


114  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

"  Your  friend  would  be  obliged  for  the  warning," 
I  replied. 

We  walked  a  little  further.  "And  I  think,"  he 
said,  "  that  I  should  inform  this  purely  hypothetical 
friend  of  mine  that  the  Italian  and  his  patron  had 
their  heads  mighty  close  together,  last  night." 

"Last  night?" 

"  Ay,  last  night.  I  went  to  drink  with  my  lord, 
and  so  broke  up  their  tete-a-tete.  My  lord  was  bois 
terous  in  his  cups  and  not  oversecret.  He  dropped 
some  hints  "  —  He  broke  off  to  indulge  in  one  of  his 
endless  silent  laughs.  "  I  don't  know  why  I  tell  you 
this,  Captain  Percy.  I  am  on  the  other  side,  you 
know,  —  quite  on  the  other  side.  But  now  I  bethink 
me,  I  am  only  telling  you  what  I  should  tell  you  were 
I  upon  your  side.  There  's  no  harm  in  that,  I  hope, 
no  disloyalty  to  my  Lord  Carnal's  interests  which 
happen  to  be  my  interests  ?  " 

I  made  no  answer.  I  gave  him  credit  both  for  his 
ignorance  of  the  very  hornbook  of  honor  and  for  his 
large  share  of  the  milk  of  human  kindness. 

"  My  lord  grows  restive,"  he  said,  when  we  had 
gone  a  little  further.  "  The  Francis  and  John,  com 
ing  in  yesterday,  brought  court  news.  Out  of  sight, 
out  of  mind.  Buckingham  is  making  hay  while  the 
sun  shines.  Useth  angel  water  for  his  complexion, 
sleepeth  in  a  medicated  mask  such  as  the  Valois  used, 
and  is  grown  handsomer  than  ever ;  changeth  the 
fashion  of  his  clothes  thrice  a  week,  which  mightily 
pleaseth  his  Majesty.  Whoops  on  the  Spanish  match, 
too,  and,  wonderful  past  all  whooping,  from  the 
prince's  detestation  hath  become  his  bosom  friend. 
Small  wonder  if  my  Lord  Carnal  thinks  it 's  time  he 
was  back  at  Whitehall." 


IN   WHICH  I  RECEIVE   A  WARNING         115 

"  Let  him  go,  then,"  I  said.  "  There 's  his  ship 
that  brought  him  here." 

"  Ay,  there 's  his  ship,"  rejoined  Master  Pory.  "  A 
few  weeks  more,  and  the  Due  Return  will  be  here 
with  the  Company's  commands.  D'  ye  think,  Cap 
tain  Percy,  that  there 's  the  slightest  doubt  as  to  their 
tenor  ?  " 

"  No." 

"  Then  my  lord  has  but  to  possess  his  soul  with 
patience  and  wait  for  the  Due  Return.  No  doubt 
he '11  do  so." 

"  No  doubt  he  '11  do  so,"  I  echoed. 

By  this  we  had  reached  the  Secretary's  own  door. 
"  Fortune  favor  you  with  the  Paspaheghs  !  "  he  said, 
with  another  mighty  yawn.  "  As  for  me,  I  '11  to  bed. 
Do  you  ever  dream,  Captain  Percy  ?  I  don't ;  mine 
is  too  good  a  conscience.  But  if  I  did,  I  should 
dream  of  an  Italian  doctor." 

The  door  shut  upon  his  red  face  and  bright  eyes. 
I  walked  rapidly  on  down  the  street  to  the  minister's 
house.  The  light  was  very  pale  as  yet,  and  house 
and  garden  lay  beneath  a  veil  of  mist.  No  one  was 
stirring.  I  went  on  through  the  gray  wet  paths  to 
the  stable,  and  roused  Diccon. 

"  Saddle  Black  Lamoral  quickly,"  I  ordered. 
"  There  's  trouble  with  the  Paspaheghs,  and  I  am  off 
with  Master  Rolfe  to  settle  it." 

"  Am  I  to  go  with  you  ?  "  he  asked. 

I  shook  my  head.  "  We  have  a  dozen  men. 
There 's  no  need  of  more." 

I  left  him  busy  with  the  horse,  and  went  to  the 
house.  In  the  hall  I  found  the  negress  strewing  the 
floor  with  fresh  rushes,  and  asked  her  if  her  mistress 
yet  slept.  In  her  soft  half  English,  half  Spanish,  she 


116  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

answered  in  the  affirmative.  I  went  to  my  own  room 
and  armed  myself  ;  then  ran  upstairs  to  the  comfort 
able  chamber  where  abode  Master  Jeremy  Sparrow, 
surrounded  by  luxuries  which  his  soul  contemned. 
He  was  not  there.  At  the  foot  of  the  stair  I  was 
met  by  Goodwife  Allen.  "  The  minister  was  called 
an  hour  ago,  sir,"  she  announced.  "  There  's  a  man 
dying  of  the  fever  at  Archer's  Hope,  and  they  sent  a 
boat  for  him.  He  won't  be  back  until  afternoon." 

I  hurried  past  her  back  to  the  stable.  Black  La- 
moral  was  saddled,  and  Diccon  held  the  stirrup  for 
me  to  mount. 

"  Good  luck  with  the  vermin,  sir  !  "  he  said.  "  I 
wish  I  were  going,  too." 

His  tone  was  sullen,  yet  wistful.  I  knew  that  he 
loved  danger  as  I  loved  it,  and  a  sudden  remembrance 
of  the  dangers  we  had  faced  together  brought  us 
nearer  to  each  other  than  we  had  been  for  many  a  day. 

"  I  don't  take  you,"  I  explained,  "  because  I  have 
need  of  you  here.  Master  Sparrow  has  gone  to  watch 
beside  a  dying  man,  and  will  not  be  back  for  hours. 
As  for  myself,  there 's  no  telling  how  long  I  may  be 
kept.  Until  I  come  you  are  to  guard  house  and  gar 
den  well.  You  know  what  I  mean.  Your  mistress  is 
to  be  molested  by  no  one." 

"  Very  well,  sir." 

"  One  thing  more.  There  was  some  talk  yesterday 
of  my  taking  her  across  the  neck  to  the  forest.  When 
she  awakes,  tell  her  from  me  that  I  am  sorry  for  her 
to  lose  her  pleasure,  but  that  now  she  could  not  go 
even  were  I  here  to  take  her." 

"There's  no  danger  from  the  Paspaheghs  there," 
he  muttered. 

u  The  Paspaheghs  happen  not  to  be  my  only  foes," 


IN  WHICH  I   RECEIVE  A  WARNING         117 

I  said  curtly.  "Do  as  I  bid  you  without  remark. 
Tell  her  that  I  have  good  reasons  for  desiring  her  to 
remain  within  doors  until  my  return.  On  no  account 
whatever  is  she  to  venture  without  the  garden." 

I  gathered  up  the  reins,  and  he  stood  back  from  the 
horse's  head.  When  I  had  gone  a  few  paces  I  drew 
rein,  and,  turning  in  my  saddle,  spoke  to  him  across 
the  dew-drenched  grass.  "  This  is  a  trust,  Diecon,"  I 
said. 

The  red  came  into  his  tanned  face.  He  raised  his 
hand  and  made  our  old  military  salute.  "  I  under 
stand  it  so,  my  captain,"  he  answered,  and  I  rode 
away  satisfied. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

IN   WHICH  THE    SANTA  TERESA    DROPS    DOWNSTREAM 

AN  hour's  ride  brought  us  to  the  block  house  stand 
ing  within  the  forest,  midway  between  the  white  plan 
tations  at  Paspahegh  and  the  village  of  the  tribe. 
We  found  it  well  garrisoned,  spies  out,  and  the  men 
inclined  to  make  light  of  the  black  paint  and  the 
seething  village. 

Amongst  them  was  Chanco  the  Christian.  I  called 
him  to  me,  and  we  listened  to  his  report  with  growing 
perturbation.  "  Thirty  warriors  !  "  I  said,  when  he 
had  finished.  "  And  they  are  painted  yellow  as  well 
as  black,  and  have  dashed  their  cheeks  with  puc- 
coon  :  it 's  a  Foutrance,  then  !  And  the  war  dance  is 
toward  !  If  we  are  to  pacify  this  hornets'  nest,  it 's 
high  time  we  set  about  it.  Gentlemen  of  the  block 
house,  we  are  but  twelve,  and  they  may  beat  us  back, 
in  which  case  those  that  are  left  of  us  will  fight  it  out 
with  you  here.  Watch  for  us,  therefore,  and  have  a 
sally  party  ready.  Forward,  men  !  " 

"  One  moment,  Captain  Percy,"  said  Kolfe.  "  Chan 
co,  where  's  the  Emperor  ?  " 

"Five  suns  ago  he  was  with  the  priests  at  Utta- 
mussac,"  answered  the  Indian.  "Yesterday,  at  the 
full  sun  power,  he  was  in  the  lodge  of  the  werowance 
of  the  Chickahominies.  He  feasts  there  still.  The 
Chickahoiniiiies  and  the  Powhatans  have  buried  the 
hatchet." 


THE  SANTA  TERESA   DROPS   DOWNSTREAM     119 

"  I  regret  to  hear  it,"  I  remarked.  "  Whilst  they 
took  each  other's  scalps,  mine  own  felt  the  safer." 

"  I  advise  going  direct  to  Opechancanough,"  said 
Rolfe. 

"  Since  he  's  only  a  league  away,  so  do  I,"  I  an 
swered. 

We  left  the  block  house  and  the  clearing  around  it, 
and  plunged  into  the  depths  of  the  forest.  In  these 
virgin  woods  the  trees  are  set  well  apart,  though  linked 
one  to  the  other  by  the  omnipresent  grape,  and  there 
is  little  undergrowth,  so  that  we  were  able  to  make 
good  speed.  Kolfe  and  I  rode  well  in  front  of  our 
men.  By  now  the  sun  was  shining  through  the  lower 
branches  of  the  trees,  and  the  mist  was  fast  vanish 
ing.  The  forest  —  around  us,  above  us,  and  under  the 
hoofs  of  the  horses  where  the  fallen  leaves  lay  thick 
—  was  as  yellow  as  gold  and  as  red  as  blood. 

"  Kolfe,"  I  asked,  breaking  a  long  silence,  "  do  you 
credit  what  the  Indians  say  of  Opechancanough  ?  " 

"  That  he  was  brother  to  Powhatan  only  by  adop 
tion?" 

44  That,  fleeing  for  his  life,  he  came  to  Virginia, 
years  and  years  ago,  from  some  mysterious  land  far 
to  the  south  and  west  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  know,"  he  replied  thoughtfully.  "  He 
is  like,  and  yet  not  like,  the  people  whom  he  rules. 
In  his  eye  there  is  the  authority  of  mind  ;  his  features 
are  of  a  nobler  cast "  — 

"  And  his  heart  is  of  a  darker,"  I  said.  "It  is  a 
strange  and  subtle  savage." 

"  Strange  enough  and  subtle  enough,  I  admit,"  he 
answered,  "  though  I  believe  not  with  you  that  his 
friendliness  toward  us  is  but  a  mask." 

"  Believe  it  or  not,  it  is  so,"  I  said.     "  That  dark, 


120  TO   HAVE  AND   TO  HOLD 

cold,  still  face  is  a  mask,  and  that  simple-seeming 
amazement  at  horses  and  armor,  guns  and  blue  beads, 
is  a  mask.  It  is  in  my  mind  that  some  fair  day  the 
mask  will  be  dropped.  Here  's  the  village." 

Until  our  interview  with  Chanco  the  Christian,  the 
village  of  the  Paspaheghs,  and  not  the  village  of  the 
Chickahominies,  had  been  our  destination,  and  since 
leaving  the  block  house  we  had  made  good  speed  ;  but 
now,  within  the  usual  girdle  of  mulberries,  we  were 
met  by  the  werowance  and  his  chief  men  with  the  cus 
tomary  savage  ceremonies.  We  had  long  since  come 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  birds  of  the  air  and  the  fish 
of  the  streams  were  Mercuries  to  the  Indians. 

The  werowance  received  us  in  due  form,  with  pre 
sents  of  fish  and  venison,  cakes  of  chinquapin  meal 
and  gourds  of  pohickory,  an  uncouth  dance  by  twelve 
of  his  young  men  and  a  deal  of  hellish  noise ;  then,  at 
our  command,  led  us  into  the  village,  and  to  the  lodge 
which  marked  its  centre.  Around  it  were  gathered 
Opechancanough's  own  warriors,  men  from  Orapax 
and  Uttamussac  and  Werowocomoco,  chosen  for  their 
strength  and  cunning  ;  while  upon  the  grass  beneath  a 
blood-red  gum  tree  sat  his  wives,  painted  and  tattooed, 
with  great  strings  of  pearl  and  copper  about  their 
necks.  Beyond  them  were  the  women  and  children 
of  the  Chickahominies,  and  around  us  all  the  red 
forest. 

The  mat  that  hung  before  the  door  of  the  lodge 
was  lifted,  and  an  Indian,  emerging,  came  forward, 
with  a  gesture  of  welcome.  It  was  Nantauquas,  the 
Lady  Kebekah's  brother,  and  the  one  Indian  —  sav 
ing  always  his  dead  sister  —  that  was  ever  to  my 
liking ;  a  savage,  indeed,  but  a  savage  as  brave  and 
chivalrous,  as  courteous  and  truthful,  as  a  Christian 
knight. 


THE  SANTA  TERESA  DROPS  DOWNSTREAM    121 

Rolfe  sprang  from  his  horse,  and  advancing  to 
meet  the  young  chief  embraced  him.  Nantauquas 
had  been  much  with  his  sister  during  those  her  happy 
days  at  Varina,  before  she  went  with  Rolfe  that  ill- 
fated  voyage  to  England,  and  Rolfe  loved  him  for  her 
sake  and  for  his  own.  "  I  thought  you  at  Orapax, 
Nantauquas  !  "  he  exclaimed. 

"  I  was  there,  my  brother,"  said  the  Indian,  and 
his  voice  was  sweet,  deep,  and  grave,  like  that  of  his 
sister.  "  But  Opechancanough  would  go  to  Uttamus- 
sac,  to  the  temple  and  the  dead  kings.  I  lead  his  war 
parties  now,  and  I  came  with  him.  Opechancanough 
is  within  the  lodge.  He  asks  that  my  brother  and 
Captain  Percy  come  to  him  there." 

He  lifted  the  mat  for  us,  and  followed  us  into  the 
lodge.  There  was  the  usual  winding  entrance,  with 
half  a  dozen  mats  to  be  lifted  one  after  the  other,  but 
at  last  we  came  to  the  central  chamber  and  to  the 
man  we  sought. 

He  sat  beside  a  small  fire  burning  redly  in  the  twi 
light  of  the  room.  The  light  shone  now  upon  the 
feathers  in  his  scalp  lock,  now  upon  the  triple  row  of 
pearls  around  his  neck,  now  upon  knife  and  tomahawk 
in  his  silk  grass  belt,  now  on  the  otterskin  mantle 
hanging  from  his  shoulder  and  drawn  across  his  knees. 
How  old  he  was  no  man  knew.  Men  said  that  he  was 
older  than  Powhatan,  and  Powhatan  was  very  old 
when  he  died.  But  he  looked  a  man  in  the  prime  of 
life ;  his  frame  was  vigorous,  his  skin  unwrinkled,  his 
eyes  bright  and  full.  When  he  rose  to  welcome  us, 
and  Nantauquas  stood  beside  him,  there  seemed  not  a 
score  of  years  between  them. 

The  matter  upon  which  we  had  come  was  not  one 
that  brooked  delay.  We  waited  with  what  patience, 


122  TO   HAVE  AND  TO   HOLD 

we  might  until  his  long  speech  of  welcome  was  fin 
ished,  when,  in  as  few  words  as  possible,  Rolfe  laid 
before  him  our  complaint  against  the  Paspaheghs. 
The  Indian  listened ;  then  said,  in  that  voice  that  al 
ways  made  me  think  of  some  cold,  still,  bottomless 
pool  lying  black  beneath  overhanging  rocks  :  "  My 
brothers  may  go  in  peace.  The  Paspaheghs  have 
washed  off  the  black  paint.  If  my  brothers  go  to  the 
village,  they  will  find  the  peace  pipe  ready  for  their 
smoking." 

Rolfe  and  I  stared  at  each  other.  "I  have  sent 
messengers,"  continued  the  Emperor.  "I  have  told 
the  Paspaheghs  of  my  love  for  the  white  man,  and  of 
the  goodwill  the  white  man  bears  the  Indian.  I  have 
told  them  that  Nemattanow  was  a  murderer,  and  that 
his  death  was  just.  They  are  satisfied.  Their  village 
is  as  still  as  this  beast  at  my  feet."  He  pointed 
downward  to  a  tame  panther  crouched  against  his 
moccasins.  I  thought  it  an  ominous  comparison. 

Involuntarily  we  looked  at  Nantauquas.  "It  is 
true,"  he  said.  "  I  am  but  come  from  the  village  of 
the  Paspaheghs.  I  took  them  the  word  of  Opechan- 
canough." 

"Then,  since  the  matter  is  settled,  we  may  go 
home,"  I  remarked,  rising  as  I  spoke.  "  We  could, 
of  course,  have  put  down  the  Paspaheghs  with  one 
hand,  giving  them  besides  a  lesson  which  they  would 
not  soon  forget,  but  in  the  kindness  of  our  hearts 
toward  them  and  to  save  ourselves  trouble  we  came 
to  Opechancanough.  For  his  aid  in  this  trifling  busi 
ness  the  Governor  gives  him  thanks." 

A  smile  just  lit  the  features  of  the  Indian.  It 
was  gone  in  a  moment.  "  Does  not  Opechancanough 
love  the  white  men  ?  "  he  said.  "  Some  day  he  will 
do  more  than  this  for  them." 


THE  SANTA  TERESA  DROPS   DOWNSTREAM    123 

We  left  the  lodge  and  the  dark  Emperor  within  it, 
got  to  horse,  and  quitted  the  village,  with  its  painted 
people,  yellowing  mulberries,  and  blood-red  gum  trees. 
Nantauquas  went  with  us,  keeping  pace  with  Rolfe's 
horse,  and  giving  us  now  and  then,  in  his  deep  musi 
cal  voice,  this  or  that  bit  of  woodland  news.  At  the 
block  house  we  found  confirmation  of  the  Emperor's 
statement.  An  embassy  from  the  Paspaheghs  had 
come  with  presents,  and  the  peace  pipe  had  been 
smoked.  The  spies,  too,  brought  news  that  all  war 
like  preparations  had  ceased  in  the  village.  It  had 
sunk  once  more  into  a  quietude  befitting  the  sleepy, 
dreamy,  hazy  weather. 

Rolfe  and  I  held  a  short  consultation.  All  ap 
peared  safe,  but  there  was  the  possibility  of  a  ruse. 
At  the  last  it  seemed  best  that  he,  who  by  virtue  of 
his  peculiar  relations  with  the  Indians  was  ever  our 
negotiator,  should  remain  with  half  our  troop  at  the 
block  house,  while  I  reported  to  the  Governor.  So  I 
left  him,  and  Nantauquas  with  him,  and  rode  back  to 
Jamestown,  reaching  the  town  some  hours  sooner  than 
I  was  expected. 

It  was  after  nooning  when  I  passed  through  the 
gates  of  the  palisade,  and  an  hour  later  when  I  fin 
ished  my  report  to  the  Governor.  When  he  at  last 
dismissed  me,  I  rode  quickly  down  the  street  toward 
the  minister's  house.  As  I  passed  the  guest  house, 
I  glanced  up  at  the  window  from  which,  at  daybreak, 
the  Italian  had  looked  down  upon  me.  No  one  looked 
out  now;  the  window  was  closely  shuttered,  and  at 
the  door  beneath  my  lord's  French  rascals  were  con 
spicuously  absent.  A  few  yards  further  on  I  met  my 
lord  face  to  face,  as  he  emerged  from  a  lane  that  led 
down  to  the  river.  At  sight  of  me  he  started  vio- 


124  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

lently,  and  his  hand  went  to  his  mouth.  I  slightly 
bent  my  head,  and  rode  on  past  him.  At  the  gate  of 
the  churchyard,  a  stone's  throw  from  home,  I  met 
Master  Jeremy  Sparrow. 

"  Well  met !  "  he  exclaimed.  "  Are  the  Indians 
quiet  ?  " 

"  For  the  nonce.     How  is  your  sick  man  ?  " 

"  Very  well,"  he  answered  gravely.  "  I  closed  his 
eyes  two  hours  ago." 

"  He 's  dead,  then,"  I  said.  "  Well,  he  's  out  of  his 
troubles,  and  hath  that  advantage  over  the  living. 
Have  you  another  call,  that  you  travel  from  home  so 
fast  ?  " 

"  Why,  to  tell  the  truth,"  he  replied,  "  I  could  not 
but  feel  uneasy  when  I  learned  just  now  of  this  com 
motion  amongst  the  heathen.  You  must  know  best, 
buo  I  should  not  have  thought  it  a  day  for  madam  to 
walk  in  the  woods  ;  so  I  e'en  thought  I  would  cross 
the  neck  and  bring  her  home." 

"  For  madam  to  walk  in  the  woods  ?  "  I  said  slowly. 
"  So  she  walks  there  ?  With  whom  ?  " 

"  With  Diccon  and  Angela,"  he  answered.  "  They 
went  before  the  sun  was  an  hour  high,  so  Goodwife 
Allen  says.  I  thought  that  you  "  — 

"  No,"  I  told  him.  "  On  the  contrary,  I  left  com 
mand  that  she  should  not  venture  outside  the  garden. 
There  are  more  than  Indians  abroad." 

I  was  white  with  anger;  but  besides  anger  there 
was  fear  in  my  heart. 

"  I  will  go  at  once  and  bring  her  home,"  I  said. 
As  I  spoke,  I  happened  to  glance  toward  the  fort  and 
the  shipping  in  the  river  beyond.  Something  seemed 
wrong  with  the  prospect.  I  looked  again,  and  saw 
what  hated  and  familiar  object  was  missing. 


THE   SANTA  TERESA   DROPS   DOWNSTREAM    125 

"Where  is  the  Santa  Teresa?"  I  demanded,  the 
fear  at  my  heart  tugging  harder. 

"  She  dropped  downstream  this  morning.  I  passed 
her  as  I  came  up  from  Archer's  Hope,  awhile  ago. 
She 's  anchored  in  midstream  off  the  big  spring. 
Why  did  she  go?" 

We  looked  each'  other  in  the  eyes,  and  each  read 
the  thought  that  neither  cared  to  put  into  words. 

"  You  can  take  the  brown  mare,"  I  said,  speaking 
lightly  because  my  heart  was  as  heavy  as  lead,  "  and 
we  '11  ride  to  the  forest.  It  is  all  right,  I  dare  say. 
Doubtless  we  '11  find  her  garlanding  herself  with  the 
grape,  or  playing  with  the  squirrels,  or  asleep  on  the 
red  leaves,  with  her  head  in  Angela's  lap." 

"  Doubtless,"  he  said.  "  Don't  lose  time.  I  '11  sad 
dle  the  mare  and  overtake  you  in  two  minutes." 


CHAPTER  XIV 

IN   WHICH    WE   SEEK   A   LOST   LADY 

BESIDE  the  minister  and  myself,  nothing  human 
moved  in  the  crimson  woods.  Blue  haze  was  there, 
and  the  steady  drift  of  colored  leaves,  and  the  sun 
shine  freely  falling  through  bared  limbs,  but  no  man 
or  woman.  The  fallen  leaves  rustled  as  the  deer 
passed,  the  squirrels  chattered  and  the  foxes  barked, 
but  we  heard  no  sweet  laughter  or  ringing  song. 

We  found  a  bank  of  moss,  and  lying  upon  it  a 
chaplet  of  red-brown  oak  leaves ;  further  on,  the  mint 
beside  a  crystal  streamlet  had  been  trodden  underfoot ; 
then,  flung  down  upon  the  brown  earth  beneath  some 
pines,  we  came  upon  a  long  trailer  of  scarlet  vine. 
Beyond  was  a  fairy  hollow,  a  cuplike  depressi<  n,  cur 
tained  from  the  world  by  the  red  vines  that  hung 
from  the  trees  upon  its  brim,  and  carpeted  with  the 
gold  of  a  great  maple  ;  and  here  Fear  became  a  giant 
with  whom  it  was  vain  to  wrestle. 

There  had  been  a  struggle  in  the  hollow.  The  cur 
tain  of  vines  was  torn,  the  boughs  of  a  sumach  bent 
and  broken,  the  fallen  leaves  groun  underfoot.  In 
one  place  there  was  blood  upon  the  leaves. 

The  forest  seemed  suddenly  very  quiet,  —  quite 
soundless  save  for  the  beating  of  our  hearts.  On 
every  side  opened  red  and  yellow  ways,  sunny  glades, 
labyrinthine  paths,  long  aisles,  all  dim  with  the  blue 
haze  like  the  cloudy  incense  in  stone  cathedrals,  but 


IN  WHICH   WE   SEEK  A  LOST  LADY         127 

nothing  moved  in  them  save  the  creatures  of  the 
forest.  Without  the  hollow  there  was  no  sign.  The 
leaves  looked  undisturbed,  or  others,  drifting  down, 
had  hidden  any  marks  there  might  have  been ;  no 
footprints,  no  broken  branches,  no  token  of  those  who 
had  left  the  hollow.  Down  which  of  the  painted  ways 
had  they  gone,  and  where  were  they  now  ? 

Sparrow  and  I  sat  our  horses,  and  stared  now  down 
this  alley,  now  down  that,  into  the  blue  that  closed 
each  vista. 

"  The  Santa  Teresa  is  just  off  the  big  spring,"  he 
said  at  last.  "  She  must  have  dropped  down  there  in 
order  to  take  in  water  quietly." 

"  The  man  that  came  upon  her  is  still  in  town,  — 
or  was  an  hour  agone,"  I  replied. 

"  Then  she  has  n't  sailed  yet,"  he  said. 

In  the  distance  something  grew  out  of  the  blue 
mist.  I  had  not  lived  thirteen  years  in  the  woodland 
to  be  dim  of  sight  or  dull  of  hearing. 

"  Some  one  is  coming,"  I  announced.  "  Back  your 
horse  into  this  clump  of  sumach." 

The  sumach  grew  thick,  and  was  draped,  moreover, 
with  some  broad-leafed  vine.  Within  its  covert  we 
could  see  with  small  danger  of  being  seen,  unless  the 
approaching  figure  should  prove  to  be  that  of  an 
Indian.  It  was  not  an  Indian  ;  it  was  my  Lord  Car 
nal.  He  came  on  slowly,  glancing  from  side  to  side, 
and  pausing  now  and  then  as  if  to  listen.  He  was  so 
little  of  a.  woodsman  that  he  never  looked  underfoot. 

Sparrow  touched  my  arm  and  pointed  down  a  glade 
at  right  angles  with  the  path  my  lord  was  pursuing. 
Up  this  glade  there  was  coming  toward  us  another 
figure,  —  a  small  black  figure  that  moved  swiftly, 
looking  neither  to  the  right  nor  to  the  left. 


128  TO  HAVE  AND   TO   HOLD 

Black  Lamoral  stood  like  a  stone ;  the  brown  mare, 
too,  had  learned  what  meant  a  certain  touch  upon  her 
shoulder.  Sparrow  and  I,  with  small  shame  for  our 
eavesdropping,  bent  to  our  saddlebows  and  looked 
sideways  through  tiny  gaps  in  the  crimson  foliage. 

My  lord  descended  one  side  of  the  hollow,  his 
heavy  foot  bringing  down  the  dead  leaves  and  loose 
earth ;  the  Italian  glided  down  the  opposite  side,  dis 
turbing  the  economy  of  the  forest  as  little  as  a  snake 
would  have  done. 

"  I  thought  I  should  never  meet  you,"  growled  my 
lord.  "  I  thought  I  had  lost  you  and  her  and  myself. 
This  d — d  red  forest  and  this  blue  haze  are  enough 
to  "  —  He  broke  off  with  an  oath. 

"  I  came  as  fast  as  I  could,"  said  the  other.  His 
voice  was  strange,  thin  and  dreamy,  matching  his 
filmy  eyes  and  his  eternal,  very  faint  smile.  "  Your 
poor  physician  congratulates  your  lordship  upon  the 
success  that  still  attends  you.  Yours  is  a  fortunate 
star,  my  lord." 

"  Then  you  have  her  safe  ?  "  cried  my  lord. 

"Three  miles  from  here,  on  the  river  bank,  is  a 
ring  of  pines,  in  which  the  trees  grow  so  thick  that 
it  is  always  twilight.  Ten  years  ago  a  man  was 
murdered  there,  and  Sir  Thomas  Dale  chained  the 
murderer  to  the  tree  beneath  which  his  victim  was 
buried,  and  left  him  to  perish  of  hunger  and  thirst. 
That  is  the  tale  they  tell  at  Jamestown.  The  wood 
is  said  to  be  haunted  by  murdered  and  murderer,  and 
no  one  enters  it  or  comes  nearer  to  it  than  he  can 
avoid:  which  makes  it  an  excellent  resort  for  those 
whom  the  dead  cannot  scare.  The  lady  is  there,  my 
lord,  with  your  four  knaves  to  guard  her.  They  do 
not  know  that  the  gloom  and  quiet  of  the  place  are 
due  to  more  than  nature," 


IN  WHICH  WE   SEEK   A  LOST  LADY         129 

My  lord  began  to  laugh.  Either  he  had  been 
drinking,  or  the  success  of  his  villainy  had  served  for 
wine.  "  You  are  a  man  in  a  thousand,  Nicolo  !  "  he 
said.  "  How  far  above  or  below  the  ship  is  this  for 
tunate  wood  ?  " 

"  Just  opposite,  my  lord." 

"  Can  a  boat  land  easily  ?  " 

"  A  creek  runs  through  the  wood  to  the  river. 
There  needs  but  the  appointed  signal  from  the  bank, 
and  a  boat  from  the  Santa  Teresa  can  be  rowed  up 
the  stream  to  the  very  tree  beneath  which  the  lady 
sits." 

My  lord's  laughter  rang  out  again.  "  You  're  a  man 
in  ten  thousand,  Nicolo !  Nicolo,  the  bridegroom  's  in 
town." 

"  Back  so  soon  ?  "  said  the  Italian.  "  Then  we 
must  change  your  lordship's  plan.  With  him  on  the 
ground,  you  can  no  longer  wait  until  nightfall  to  row 
downstream  to  the  lady  and  the  Santa  Teresa.  He  '11 
come  to  look  for  her." 

"  Ay,  he  '11  come  to  look  for  her,  curse  him ! " 
echoed  my  lord. 

uDo  you  think  the  dead  will  scare  him?  "  contin 
ued  the  Italian. 

"  No,  I  don't !  "  answered  my  lord,  with  an  oath. 
"  I  would  he  were  among  them  !  An  I  could  have 
killed  him  before  I  went "  — 

"  I  had  devised  a  way  to  do  it  long  ago,  had  not 
your  lordship's  conscience  been  so  tender.  And  yet, 
before  now,  our  enemies  —  yours  and  mine,  my  lord 
—  have  met  with  sudden  and  mysterious  death.  Men 
stared,  but  they  ended  by  calling  it  a  dispensation  of 
Providence."  He  broke  off  to  laugh  with  silent,  hate 
ful  laughter,  as  mirthful  as  the  grin  of  a  death's-head. 


130  TO   HAVE  AND   TO  HOLD 

"  I  know,  I  know !  "  said  my  lord  impatiently. 
"  We  are  not  overnice,  Nicolo.  But  between  me  and 
those  who  then  stood  in  my  way  there  had  passed 
no  challenge.  This  is  my  mortal  foe,  through  whose 
heart  I  would  drive  my  sword.  I  would  give  my  ruby 
to  know  whether  he  's  in  the  town  or  in  the  forest." 

"  He  's  in  the  forest,"  I  said. 

Black  Lamoral  and  the  brown  mare  were  beside 
them  before  either  moved  hand  or  foot,  or  did  aught 
but  stare  and  stare,  as  though  men  and  horses  had 
risen  from  the  dead.  All  the  color  was  gone  from 
my  lord's  face,  —  it  looked  white,  drawn,  and  pinched ; 
as  for  his  companion,  his  countenance  did  not  change, 
—  never  changed,  I  believe,  —  but  the  trembling  of 
the  feather  in  his  hat  was  not  caused  by  the  wind. 

Jeremy  Sparrow  bent  down  from  his  saddle,  seized 
the  Italian  under  the  armpits,  and  swung  him  clean 
from  the  ground  up  to  the  brown  mare's  neck.  "  Di 
vinity  and  medicine,"  he  said  genially,  "  soul  healer 
and  body  poisoner,  we  '11  ride  double  for  a  time,"  and 
proceeded  to  bind  the  doctor's  hands  with  his  own 
scarf.  The  creature  of  venom  before  him  writhed 
and  struggled,  but  the  minister's  strength  was  as  the 
strength  of  ten,  and  the  minister's  hand  held  him 
down.  By  this  I  was  off  Black  Lamoral  and  facing 
my  lord.  The  color  had  come  back  to  his  lip  and 
cheek,  and  the  flash  to  his  eye.  His  hand  went  to 
his  sword  hilt. 

"  I  shall  not  draw  mine,  my  lord,"  I  told  him.  "  I 
keep  troth." 

He  stared  at  me  with  a  frown  that  suddenly  changed 
into  a  laugh,  forced  and  unnatural  enough.  "  Then 
go  thy  ways,  and  let  me  go  mine !  "  he  cried.  "  Be 
complaisant,  worthy  captain  of  trainbands  and  Bur- 


IN  WHICH   WE   SEEK  A  LOST   LADY         131 

gess  from  a  dozen  huts  !  The  King  and  I  will  make 
it  worth  your  while." 

"  I  will  not  draw  my  sword  upon  you,"  I  replied, 
"  but  I  will  try  a  fall  with  you,"  and  I  seized  him  by 
the  wrist. 

He  was  a  good  wrestler  as  he  was  a  good  swords 
man,  but,  with  bitter  anger  in  my  heart  and  a  vision 
of  the  haunted  wood  before  my  eyes,  I  think  I  could 
have  wrestled  with  Hercules  and  won.  Presently  I 
threw  him,  and,  pinning  him  down  with  my  knee  upon 
his  breast,  cried  to  Sparrow  to  cut  the  bridle  reins 
from  Black  Lamoral  and  throw  them  to  me.  Though 
he  had  the  Italian  upon  his  hands,  he  managed  to 
obey.  With  my  free  hand  and  my  teeth  I  drew  s 
thong  about  my  lord's  arms  and  bound  them  to  his 
sides ;  then  took  my  knee  from  his  chest  and  my 
hand  from  his  throat,  and  rose  to  my  feet.  He  rose 
too  with  one  spring.  He  was  very  white,  and  there 
was  foam  on  his  lips. 

"  What  next,  captain  ? "  he  demanded  thickly. 
"  Your  score  is  mounting  up  rather  rapidly.  What 
next?" 

"  This,"  I  replied,  and  with  the  other  thong  fas 
tened  him,  despite  his  struggles,  to  the  young  maple 
beneath  which  we  had  wrestled.  When  the  task  was 
done,  I  first  drew  his  sword  from  its  jeweled  scabbard 
and  laid  it  on  the  ground  at  his  feet,  and  then  cut  the 
leather  which  restrained  his  arms,  leaving  him  only 
tied  to  the  tree.  "  I  am  not  Sir  Thomas  Dale,"  I 
said,  "  and  therefore  I  shall  not  gag  you  and  leave 
you  bound  for  an  indefinite  length  of  time,  to  contem 
plate  a  grave  that  you  thought  to  dig.  One  haunted 
wood  is  enough  for  one  county.  Your  lordship  will 
observe  that  I  have  knotted  your  bonds  in  easy  reach 


132  TO  HAVE    AND  TO  HOLD 

of  your  hands,  the  use  of  which  I  have  just  restored 
to  you.  The  knot  is  a  peculiar  one  ;  an  Indian  taught 
it  to  me.  If  you  set  to  work  at  once,  you  will  get 
it  untied  before  nightfall.  That  you  may  not  think  it 
the  Gordian  knot  and  treat  it  as  such,  I  have  put 
your  sword  where  you  can  get  it  only  when  you  have 
worked  for  it.  Your  familiar,  my  lord,  may  prove  of 
use  to  us ;  therefore  we  will  take  him  with  us  to  the 
haunted  wood.  I  have  the  honor  to  wish  your  lord 
ship  a  very  good  day." 

I  bowed  low,  swung  myself  into  my  saddle,  and 
turned  my  back  upon  his  glaring  eyes  and  bared 
teeth.  Sparrow,  his  prize  flung  across  his  saddlebow, 
turned  with  me.  A  minute  more  saw  us  out  of  the 
hollow,  and  entered  upon  the  glade  up  which  had 
come  the  Italian.  When  we  had  gone  a  short  dis 
tance,  I  turned  in  my  saddle  and  looked  back.  The 
tiny  hollow  had  vanished  ;  all  the  forest  looked  level, 
dreamy  and  still,  barren  of  humanity,  given  over  to 
its  own  shy  children,  nothing  moving  save  the  slow- 
falling  leaves.  But  from  beyond  a  great  clump  of 
sumach,  set  like  a  torch  in  the  vaporous  blue,  came  a 
steady  stream  of  words,  happily  rendered  indistin 
guishable  by  distance,  and  I  knew  that  the  King's 
minion  was  cursing  the  Italian,  the  Governor,  the 
Santa  Teresa,  the  Due  Return,  the  minister,  the  for 
est,  the  haunted  wood,  his  sword,  the  knot  that  I  had 
tied,  and  myself. 

I  admit  that  the  sound  was  music  in  mine  ears. 


CHAPTER  XV 

IN   WHICH   WE   FIND   THE   HAUNTED   WOOD 

ON  the  outskirts  of  the  haunted  wood  we  dis 
mounted,  fastening  the  horses  to  two  pines.  The 
Italian  we  gagged  and  bound  across  the  brown  mare's 
saddle.  Then,  as  noiselessly  as  Indians,  we  entered 
the  wood. 

Once  within  it,  it  was  as  though  the  sun  had  sud 
denly  sunk  from  the  heavens.  The  pines,  of  magni 
ficent  height  and  girth,  were  so  closely  set  that  far 
overhead,  where  the  branches  began,  was  a  heavy  roof 
of  foliage,  impervious  to  the  sunshine,  brooding,  dark 
and  sullen  as  a  thundercloud,  over  the  cavernous 
world  beneath.  There  was  no  undergrowth,  no  cling 
ing  vines,  no  bloom,  no  color ;  only  the  dark,  innu 
merable  tree  trunks  and  the  purplish-brown,  scented, 
and  slippery  earth.  The  air  was  heavy,  cold,  and 
still,  like  cave  air ;  the  silence  as  blank  and  awful  as 
the  silence  beneath  the  earth. 

The  minister  and  I  stole  through  the  dusk,  and  for 
a  long  time  heard  nothing  but  our  own  breathing  and 
the  beating  of  our  hearts.  But  coming  to  a  sluggish 
stream,  as  quiet  as  the  wood  through  which  it  crept, 
and  following  its  slow  windings,  we  at  last  heard  a 
voice,  and  in  the  distance  made  out  dark  forms  sit 
ting  on  the  earth  beside  that  sombre  water.  We  went 
on  with  caution,  gliding  from  tree  to  tree  and  making 
no  noise.  In  the  cheerless  silence  of  that  place  any 


134  TO   HAVE  AND   TO   HOLD 

sound  would  have  shattered  the  stillness  like  a  pistol 
shot. 

Presently  we  came  to  a  halt,  and,  ourselves  hidden 
by  a  giant  trunk,  looked  out  on  stealers  and  stolen. 
They  were  gathered  on  the  bank  of  the  stream,  wait 
ing  for  the  boat  from  the  Santa  Teresa.  The  lady 
whom  we  sought  lay  like  a  fallen  flower  on  the  dark 
ground  beneath  a  pine.  She  did  not  move,  and  her 
eyes  were  shut.  At  her  head  crouched  the  negress, 
her  white  garments  showing  ghostlike  through  the 
gloom.  Beneath  the  next  tree  sat  Diccon,  his  hands 
tied  behind  him,  and  around  him  my  Lord  Carnal's 
four  knaves.  It  was  Diccon's  voice  that  we  had  heard. 
He  was  still  speaking,  and  now  we  could  distinguish 
the  words. 

"  So  Sir  Thomas  chains  him  there,"  he  said,  — 
"  right  there  to  that  tree  under  which  you  are  sitting, 
Jacky  Bonhomme."  Jacques  incontinently  shifted  his 
position.  "  He  chains  him  there,  with  one  chain 
around  his  neck,  one  around  his  waist,  and  one  around 
his  ankles.  Then  he  sticks  me  a  bodkin  through  his 
tongue."  A  groan  of  admiration  from  his  audience. 
"  Then  they  dig,  before  his  very  eyes,  a  grave,  —  shal 
low  enough  they  make  it,  too,  —  and  they  put  into  it, 
uncoffined,  with  only  a  long  white  shroud  upon  him, 
the  man  he  murdered.  Then  they  cover  the  grave. 
You  're  sitting  on  it  now,  you  other  Jacky." 

"  Godam  !  "  cried  the  rascal  addressed,  and  removed 
with  expedition  to  a  less  storied  piece  of  ground. 

"Then  they  go  away,"  continued  Diccon  in  grave 
yard  tones.  "  They  all  go  away  together,  —  Sir 
Thomas  and  Captain  Argall,  Captain  West,  Lieuten 
ant  George  Percy  and  his  cousin,  my  master,  and  Sir 
Thomas's  men ;  they  go  out  of  the  wood  as  though 


IN  WHICH  WE  FIND  THE  HAUNTED  WOOD     135 

it  were  accursed,  though  indeed  it  was  not  half  so 
gloomy  then  as  it  is  now.  The  sun  shone  into  it  then, 
sometimes,  and  the  birds  sang.  You  would  n't  think 
it  from  the  looks  of  things  now,  would  you  ?  As  the 
dead  man  rotted  in  his  grave,  and  the  living  man  died 
by  inches  above  him,  they  say  the  wood  grew  darker, 
and  darker,  and  darker.  How  dark  it 's  getting  now, 
and  cold,  —  cold  as  the  dead  !  " 

His  auditors  drew  closer  together,  and  shivered. 
Sparrow  and  I  were  so  near  that  we  could  see  the 
hands  of  the  ingenious  story-teller,  bound  behind  his 
back,  working  as  he  talked.  Now  they  strained  this 
way,  and  now  that,  at  the  piece  of  rope  that  bound 
them. 

"That  was  ten  years  ago,"  he  said,  his  voice  be 
coming  more  and  more  impressive.  "  Since  that  day 
nothing  comes  into  this  wood,  —  nothing  human,  that 
is.  Neither  white  man  nor  Indian  comes,  that 's  cer 
tain.  Then  why  are  n't  there  chains  around  that  tree, 
and  why  are  there  no  bones  beneath  it,  on  the  ground 
there?  Because,  Jackies  all,  the  man  that  did  that 
murder  walks  !  It  is  not  always  deadly  still  here  ; 
sometimes  there  's  a  clanking  of  chains  !  And  a  bod 
kin  through  the  tongue  can't  keep  the  dead  from 
wailing  !  And  the  murdered  man  walks,  too ;  in  his 
shroud  he  follows  the  other  —  Is  n't  that  something 
white  in  the  distance  yonder  ?  " 

My  lord's  four  knaves  looked  down  the  arcade  of 
trees,  and  saw  the  something  white  as  plainly  as  if  it 
had  been  verily  there.  Each  moment  the  wood  grew 
darker,  —  a  thing  in  nature,  since  the  sun  outside  was 
swiftly  sinking  to  the  horizon.  But  to  those  to  whom 
that  tale  had  been  told  it  was  a  darkening  unearthly 
and  portentous,  bringing  with  it  a  colder  air  and  » 
deepened  silence. 


136  TO   HAVE  AND  TO   HOLD 

"  Oh,  Sir  Thomas  Dale,  Sir  Thomas  Dale !  " 

The  voice  seemed  to  come  from  the  distance,  and 
bore  in  its  dismal  cadence  the  melancholy  of  the 
damned.  For  a  moment  my  heart  stood  still,  and  the 
hair  of  my  head  commenced  to  rise ;  the  next,  I  knew 
that  Diccon  had  found  an  ally,  not  in  the  dead, 
but  in  the  living.  The  minister,  standing  beside  me, 
opened  his  mouth  again,  and  again  that  dismal  voice 
rang  through  the  wood,  and  again  it  seemed,  by  I 
know  not  what  art,  to  come  from  any  spot  rather  than 
from  that  particular  tree  behind  whose  trunk  stood 
Master  Jeremy  Sparrow. 

"Oh,  the  bodkin  through  my  tongue!  Oh,  the 
bodkin  through  my  tongue  !  " 

Two  of  the  guard  sat  with  hanging  lip  and  lack 
lustre  eyes,  turned  to  stone ;  one,  at  full  length  upon 
the  ground,  bruised  his  face  against  the  pine  needles 
and  called  on  the  Virgin  ;  the  fourth,  panic-stricken, 
leaped  to  his  feet  and  dashed  off  into  the  darkness, 
to  trouble  us  no  more  that  day. 

"  Oh,  the  heavy  chains !  "  cried  the  unseen  spectre. 
"  Oh,  the  dead  man  in  his  grave !  " 

The  man  on  his  face  dug  his  nails  into  the  earth 
and  howled ;  his  fellows  were  too  frightened  for  sound 
or  motion.  Diccon,  a  hardy  rogue,  with  little  fear  of 
God  or  man,  gave  no  sign  of  perturbation  beyond  a 
desperate  tugging  at  the  rope  about  his  wrists.  He 
was  ever  quick  to  take  suggestion,  and  he  had  prob 
ably  begun  to  question  the  nature  of  the  ghost  who 
was  doing  him  such  yeoman  service. 

"  D'  ye  think  they  've  had  enough  ?  "  said  Sparrow 
in  my  ear.  "  My  invention  flaggeth."  . 

I  nodded,  too  choked  with  laughter  for  speech,  and 
drew  my  sword.  The  next  moment  we  were  upon  the 
men  like  wolves  upon  the  fold. 


IN  WHICH  WE  FIND  THE  HAUNTED  WOOD    137 

They  made  no  resistance.  Amazed  and  shaken  as 
they  were,  we  might  have  dispatched  them  with  all 
ease,  to  join  the  dead  whose  lamentations  yet  rang  in 
their  ears ;  but  we  contented  ourselves  with  disarming 
them  and  bidding  them  begone  for  their  lives  in  the 
direction  of  the  Pamunkey.  They  went  like  fright 
ened  deer,  their  one  goal  in  life  escape  from  the  wood. 

"  Did  you  meet  the  Italian  ?  " 

I  turned  to  find  my  wife  at  my  side.  The  King's 
ward  had  a  kingly  spirit ;  she  was  not  one  that 
the  dead  or  the  living  could  daunt.  To  her,  as  to 
me,  danger  was  a  trumpet  call  to  nerve  heart  and 
strengthen  soul.  She  had  been  in  peril  of  that  which 
she  most  feared,  but  the  light  in  her  eye  was  not 
quenched,  and  the  hand  with  which  she  touched  mine, 
though  cold,  was  steady. 

"  Is  he  dead  ?  "  she  asked.  "  At  court  they  called 
him  the  Black  Death.  They  said  "  — 

"  I  did  not  kill  him,"  I  answered,  "  but  I  will  if 
you  desire  it." 

"  And  his  master?"  she  demanded.  "  What  have 
you  done  with  his  master?  " 

I  told  her.  At  the  vision  my  words  conjured  up 
her  strained  nerves  gave  way,  and  she  broke  into 
laughter  as  cruel  as  it  was  sweet.  Peal  after  peal 
rang  through  the  haunted  wood,  and  increased  the 
eeriness  of  the  place. 

"  The  knot  that  I  tied  he  will  untie  directly,"  I 
said.  "  If  we  would  reach  Jamestown  first,  we  had 
best  be  going." 

"  Night  is  upon  us,  too,"  said  the  minister,  "  and 
this  place  hath  the  look  of  the  very  valley  of  the 
shadow  of  death.  If  the  spirits  walk,  it  is  hard  upon 
their  time  —  and  I  prefer  to  walk  elsewhere." 


138  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

"  Cease  your  laughter,  madam,"  I  said.  "  Should 
a  boat  be  coming  up  this  stream,  you  would  betray 
us." 

I  went  over  to  Diccon,  and  in  a  silence  as  grim  as 
his  own  cut  the  rope  which  bound  his  hands,  which 
done  we  all  moved  through  the  deepening  gloom  to 
where  we  had  left  the  horses,  Jeremy  Sparrow  going 
on  ahead  to  have  them  in  readiness.  Presently  he 
came  hurrying  back.  "  The  Italian  is  gone  !  "  he  cried. 

"  Gone  !  "  I  exclaimed.  "  I  told  you  to  tie  him  fast 
to  the  saddle !  " 

"  Why,  so  I  did,"  he  replied.  "  I  drew  the  thongs 
so  tight  that  they  cut  into  his  flesh.  He  could  not 
have  endured  to  pull  against  them." 

"  Then  how  did  he  get  away  ?  " 

"  Why,"  he  answered,  with  a  rueful  countenance, 
"  I  did  bind  him,  as  I  have  said  ;  but  when  I  had 
done  so,  I  bethought  me  of  how  the  leather  must  cut, 
and  of  how  pain  is  dreadful  even  to  a  snake,  and  of 
the  injunction  to  do  as  you  would  be  done  by,  and 
so  e'en  loosened  his  bonds.  But,  as  I  am  a  christened 
man,  I  thought  that  they  would  yet  hold  him  fast !  " 

I  began  to  swear,  but  ended  in  vexed  laughter. 
"  The  milk 's  spilt.  There  's  no  use  in  crying  over  it. 
After  all,  we  must  have  loosed  him  before  we  entered 
the  town." 

"  Will  you  not  bring  the  matter  before  the  Gov 
ernor  ?  "  he  asked. 

I  shook  my  head.  "  If  Yeardley  did  me  right,  he 
would  put  in  jeopardy  his  office  and  his  person.  This 
is  my  private  quarrel,  and  I  will  draw  no  man  into  it 
against  his  will.  Here  are  the  horses,  and  we  had  best 

O 

be  gone,  for  by  this  time  my  lord  and  his  physician 
may  have  their  heads  together  again." 


IN  WHICH  WE  FIND  THE  HAUNTED  WOOD    139 

I  mounted  Black  Lamoral,  and  lifted  Mistress  Percy 
to  a  seat  behind  me.  The  brown  mare  bore  the  min 
ister  and  the  negress,  and  Diccon,  doggedly  silent, 
trudged  beside  us. 

We  passed  through  the  haunted  wood  and  the 
painted  forest  beyond  without  adventure.  We  rode 
in  silence  :  the  lady  behind  me  too  weary  for  speech, 
the  minister  revolving  in  his  mind  the  escape  of  the 
Italian,  and  I  with  my  own  thoughts  to  occupy  me. 
It  was  dusk  when  we  crossed  the  neck  of  land,  and 
as  we  rode  down  the  street  torches  were  being  lit  in 
the  houses.  The  upper  room  in  the  guest  house  was 
brightly  illumined,  and  the  window  was  open.  Black 
Lamoral  and  the  brown  mare  made  a  trampling  with 
their  hoofs,  and  I  began  to  whistle  a  gay  old  tune  I 
had  learnt  in  the  wars.  A  figure  in  scarlet  and  black 
came  to  the  window,  and  stood  there  looking  down 
upon  us.  The  lady  riding  with  me  straightened  her 
self  and  raised  her  weary  head.  "  The  next  time  we 
go  to  the  forest,  Ralph,"  she  said  in  a  clear,  high 
voice,  "  thou  'It  show  me  a  certain  tree,"  and  she 
broke  into  silvery  laughter.  She  laughed  until  we 
had  left  behind  the  guest  house  and  the  figure  in 
the  upper  window,  and  then  the  laughter  changed  to 
something  like  a  sob.  If  there  were  pain  and  anger 
in  her  heart,  pain  and  anger  were  in  mine  also.  She 
had  never  called  me  by  my  name  before.  She  had 
only  used  it  now  as  a  dagger  with  which  to  stab  at 
that  fierce  heart  above  us. 

At  last  we  reached  the  minister's  house,  and  dis 
mounted  before  the  door.  Diccon  led  the  horses 
away,  and  I  handed  my  wife  into  the  great  room. 
The  minister  tarried  but  for  a  few  words  anent  some 
precautions  that  I  meant  to  take,  and  then  betook 


140  TO   HAVE   AND  TO   HOLD 

himself  to  his  own  chamber.  As  he  went  out  of  the 
door  Diccon  entered  the  room. 

"  Oh,  I  am  weary  !  "  sighed  Mistress  Jocelyn  Percy. 
"  What  was  the  mighty  business,  Captain  Percy,  that 
made  you  break  tryst  with  a  lady?  You  should  go  to 
court,  sir,  to  be  taught  gallantry." 

"  Where  should  a  wife  go  to  be  taught  obedience  ?  " 
I  demanded.  "  You  know  where  I  went  and  why  I 
could  not  keep  tryst.  Why  did  you  not  obey  my 
orders  ?  " 

She  opened  wide  her  eyes.  "  Your  orders  ?  I  never 
received  any,  —  not  that  I  should  have  obeyed  them 
if  I  had.  Know  where  you  went?  I  know  neither 
why  nor  where  you  went !  " 

I  leaned  my  hand  upon  the  table,  and  looked  from 
her  to  Diccon. 

"I  was  sent  by  the  Governor  to  quell  a  disturb 
ance  amongst  the  nearest  Indians.  The  woods  to 
day  have  been  full  of  danger.  Moreover,  the  plan 
that  we  made  yesterday  was  overheard  by  the  Italian. 
When  I  had  to  go  this  morning  without  seeing  you, 
I  left  you  word  where  I  had  gone  and  why,  and  also 
my  commands  that  you  should  not  stir  outside  the 
garden.  Were  you  not  told  this,  madam  ?  " 

"No!"  she  cried. 

I  looked  at  Diccon.  "  I  told  madam  that  you  were 
called  away  on  business,"  he  said  sullenly.  "  I  told 
her  that  you  were  sorry  you  could  not  go  with  her  to 
the  woods." 

"  You  told  her  nothing  more  ?  " 

"No." 

"  May  I  ask  why  ?  " 

He  threw  back  his  head.  "  I  did  not  believe  the 
Paspaheghs  would  trouble  her,"  he  answered,  with 


IN  WHICH  WE  FIND  THE  HAUNTED  WOOD     141 

hardihood,  "  and  you  had  n't  seen  fit,  sir,  to  tell  me 
of  the  other  danger.  Madam  wanted  to  go,  and  I 
thought  it  a  pity  that  she  should  lose  her  pleasure  for 
nothing." 

I  had  been  hunting  the  day  before,  and  my  whip 
yet  lay  upon  the  table.  "I  have  known  you  for  a 
hardy  rogue,"  I  said,  with  my  hand  upon  it ;  "  now  I 
know  you  for  a  faithless  one  as  well.  If  I  gave  you 
credit  for  all  the  vices  of  the  soldier,  I  gave  you  credit 
also  for  his  virtues.  I  was  the  more  deceived.  The 
disobedient  servant  I  might  pardon,  but  the  soldier 
who  is  faithless  to  his  trust  "  — 

I  raised  the  whip  and  brought  it  down  again  and 
again  across  his  shoulders.  He  stood  without  a  word, 
his  face  dark  red  and  his  hands  clenched  at  his  sides. 
For  a  minute  or  more  there  was  no  sound  in  the  room 
save  the  sound  of  the  blows ;  then  my  wife  suddenly 
cried  out :  "  It  is  enough !  You  have  beaten  him 
enough !  Let  him  go,  sir  !  " 

I  threw  down  the  whip.  "  Begone,  sirrah !  "  I 
ordered.  "  And  keep  out  of  my  sight  to-morrow  !  " 

With  his  face  still  dark  red  and  with  a  pulse  beat 
ing  fiercely  in  his  cheek,  he  moved  slowly  toward  the 
door,  turned  when  he  had  reached  it  and  saluted,  then 
went  out  and  closed  it  after  him. 

"  Now  he  too  will  be  your  enemy,"  said  Mistress 
Percy,  "  and  all  through  me.  I  have  brought  you 
many  enemies,  have  I  not  ?  Perhaps  you  count  me 
amongst  them  ?  I  should  not  wonder  if  you  did.  Do 
you  not  wish  me  gone  from  Virginia  ?  " 

"  So  I  were  with  you,  madam,"  I  said  bluntly,  and 
went  to  call  the  minister  down  to  supper. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

IN   WHICH   I  AM   RID   OF  AN  UNPROFITABLE  SERVANT 

THE  next  day,  Governor  and  Councilors  sat  to  re 
ceive  presents  from  the  Paspaheghs  and  to  listen  to 
long  and  affectionate  messages  from  Opechancanough, 
who,  like  the  player  queen,  did  protest  too  much. 
The  Council  met  at  Yeardley's  house,  and  I  was 
called  before  it  to  make  my  report  of  the  expedition 
of  the  day  before.  It  was  late  afternoon  when  the 
Governor  dismissed  us,  and  I  found  myself  leaving 
the  house  in  company  with  Maste'  Pory. 

"  I  am  bound  for  my  lord's,"  said  that  worthy  as 
we  neared  the  guest  house.  "  My  lord  hath  Xeres 
wine  that  is  the  very  original  nectar  of  the  gods,  and 
he  drinks  it  from  goblets  worth  a  king's  ransom.  We 
have  heard  a  deal  to-day  about  burying  hatchets : 
bury  thine  for  the  nonce,  Ralph  Percy,  and  come 
drink  with  us." 

"Not  I,"  I  said.  "I  would  sooner  drink  with  — 
some  one  else." 

He  laughed.  "  Here  's  my  lord  himself  shall  per 
suade  you." 

My  lord,  dressed  with  his  usual  magnificence  and 
darkly  handsome  as  ever,  was  indeed  standing  within 
the  guest-house  door.  Pory  drew  up  beside  him.  I 
was  passing  on  with  a  slight  bow,  when  the  Secretary 
caught  me  by  the  sleeve.  At  the  Governor's  house 
wine  had  been  set  forth  to  revive  the  jaded  Council, 


I  AM  RID  OF  AN  UNPROFITABLE  SERVANT    143 

and  he  was  already  half  seas  over.  "  Tarry  with  us, 
captain  !  "  he  cried.  "  Good  wine  's  good  wine,  no 
matter  who  pours  it !  'S  bud  !  in  my  young  days 
men  called  a  truce  and  forgot  they  were  foes  when  the 
bottle  went  round  !  " 

"  If  Captain  Percy  will  stay,"  quoth  my  lord,  "  I 
will  give  him  welcome  and  good  wine.  As  Master 
Pory  says,  men  cannot  be  always  fightingv  A  breath 
ing  spell  to-day  gives  to-morrow's  struggle  new  zest." 

He  spoke  frankly,  with  open  face  and  candid  eyes. 

I  was  not  fooled.     If  yesterday  he  would  have  slain 
me  only  in  fair  fight,  it  was  not  so  to-day.    Under  the 
lace  that  fell  over  his  wrist  was  a   red   cirque,   the 
mark  of  the  thong  with  which  I  had  bound  him.     As 

II  he  had  told  me,  I  knew  that  he  had  thrown  his 
scruples/ to  the  winds,  and  that  he  cared  not  what  foul 
play  he  used  to  sweep  me  from  his  path.     My  spirit 
and  my  wit  rose  to  meet  the  danger.     Of  a  sudden  I 
resolved  to  accept  his  invitation. 

"  So  be  it,"  I  said,  with  a  laugh  and  a  shrug  of  my 
shoulders.  "  A  cup  of  wine  is  no  great  matter.  I  '11 
take  it  at  your  hands,  my  lord,  and  drink  to  our 
better  acquaintance." 

We  all  three  went  up  into  my  lord's  room.  The 
King  had  fitted  out  his  minion  bravely  for  the  Vir 
ginia  voyage,  and  the  riches  that  had  decked  the 
state  cabin  aboard  the  Santa  Teresa  now  served  to 
transform  the  bare  room  in  the  guest  house  at  James 
town  into  a  corner  of  Whitehall.  The  walls  were 
hung  with  arras,  there  was  a  noble  carpet  beneath  as 
well  as  upon  the  table,  and  against  the  wall  stood 
richly  carved  trunks.  On  the  table,  beside  a  bowl  of 
late  flowers  were  a  great  silver  flagon  and  a  number 
of  goblets,  some  of  chased  silver  and  some  of  colored 


144  TO   HAVE  AND   TO  HOLD 

glass,  strangely  shaped  and  fragile  as  an  eggshell. 
The  late  sun  now  shining  in  at  the  open  window  made 
the  glass  to  glow  like  precious  stones. 

My  lord  rang  a  little  silver  bell,  and  a  door  behind 
us  was  opened.  "  Wine,  Giles !  "  cried  my  lord  in 
a  raised  voice.  "  Wine  for  Master  Pory,  Captain 
Percy,  and  myself !  And  Giles,  my  two  choice  gob 
lets." 

Giles,  whom  I  had  never  seen  before,  advanced  to 
the  table,  took  the  flagon,  and  went  toward  the  door, 
which  he  had  shut  behind  him.  I  negligently  turned 
in  my  seat,  and  so  came  in  for  a  glimpse,  as  he  slipped 
through  the  door,  of  a  figure  in  black  in  the  next 
room. 

The  wine  was  brought,  and  with  it  two  goblets. 
My  lord  broke  off  in  the  midst  of  an  account  of 
the  morning's  bear-baiting  which  the  tediousness  of 
the  Indians  had  caused  us  to  miss.  "  Who  knows  if 
we  three  shall  ever  drink  together  again  ?  "  he  said. 
"  To  honor  this  bout  I  use  my  most  precious  cups." 
Voice  and  manner  were  free  and  unconstrained. 
"  This  gold  cup  "  —  he  held  it  up  —  "belonged  to  the 
Medici.  Master  Pory,  who  is  a  man  of  taste,  will 
note  the  beauty  of  the  graven  monads  upon  this  side, 
and  of  the  Bacchus  and  Ariadne  upon  this.  It  is  the 
work  of  none  other  than  Benvenuto  Cellini.  I  pour 
for  you,  sir."  He  filled  the  gold  cup  with  the  ruby 
wine  and  set  it  before  the  Secretary,  who  eyed  it 
with  all  the  passion  of  a  lover,  and  waited  not  for 
us,  but  raised  it  to  his  lips  at  once.  My  lord  took  up 
the  other  cup.  "  This  glass,"  he  continued,  "  as  green 
as  an  emerald,  freckled  inside  and  out  with  gold,  and 
shaped  like  a  lily,  was  once  amongst  a  convent's  trea 
sures.  My  father  brought  it  from  Italy,  years  ago. 


I  AM  RID  OF  AN  UNPROFITABLE  SERVANT    145 

I  use  it  as  he  used  it,  only  on  gala  days.  I  fill  to  you, 
sir."  He  poured  the  wine  into  the  green  and  gold 
and  twisted  bauble  and  set  it  before  me,  then  filled 
a  silver  goblet  for  himself.  "  Drink,  gentlemen,"  he 
said. 

"  Faith,  I  have  drunken  already,"  quoth  the  Secre 
tary,  and  proceeded  to  fill  for  himself  a  second  time. 
"  Here 's  to  you,  gentlemen !  "  and  he  emptied  half 
the  measure. 

"  Captain  Percy  does  not  drink,"  remarked  my 
lord. 

I  leaned  my  elbow  upon  the  table,  and,  holding  up 
the  glass  against  the  light,  began  to  admire  its  beauty. 
"  The  tint  is  wonderful,"  I  said,  "  as  lucent  a  green 
as  the  top  of  the  comber  that  is  to  break  and  over 
whelm  you.  And  these  knobs  of  gold,  within  and 
without,  and  the  strange  shape  the  tortured  glass  has 
been  made  to  take.  I  find  it  of  a  quite  sinister 
beauty,  my  lord." 

"  It  hath  been  much  admired,"  said  the  nobleman 
addressed. 

"  I  am  strangely  suited,  my  lord,"  I  went  on,  still 
dreamily  enjoying  the  beauty  of  the  green  gem  within 
my  clasp.  "  I  am  a  soldier  with  an  imagination. 
Sometimes,  to  give  the  rein  to  my  fancy  pleases  me 
more  than  wine.  Now,  this  strange  chalice,  —  might 
it  not  breed  dreams  as  strange  ?  " 

"  When  I  had  drunken,  I  think,"  replied  my  lord. 
"  The  wine  would  be  a  potent  spur  to  my  fancy." 

"What  saith  honest  Jack  Falstaff?"  broke  in  the 
maudlin  Secretary.  "Doth  he  not  bear  testimony 
that  good  sherris  maketh  the  brain  apprehensive  and 
quick ;  filleth  it  with  nimble,  fiery,  and  delectable 
shapes,  which  being  delivered  by  the  tongue  become 


146  TO   HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

excellent  wit?  Wherefore  let  us  drink,  gentlemen, 
and  beget  fancies."  He  filled  for  himself  again,  and 
buried  his  nose  in  the  cup. 

"  'T  is  such  a  cup,  methinks,"  I  said,  "  as  Medea 
may  have  filled  for  Theseus.  The  white  hand  of  Circe 
may  have  closed  around  this  stem  when  she  stood  to 
greet  Ulysses,  and  knew  not  that  he  had  the  saving 
herb  in  his  palm.  Goneril  may  have  sent  this  green 
and  gilded  shape  to  Kegan.  Fair  Kosamond  may 
have  drunk  from  it  while  the  Queen  watched  her.  At 
some  voluptuous  feast,  Caesar  Borgia  and  his  sister, 
sitting  crowned  with  roses,  side  by  side,  may  have 
pressed  it  upon  a  reluctant  guest,  who  had,  perhaps,  a 
treasure  of  his  own.  I  dare  swear  Eene,  the  Floren 
tine,  hath  fingered  many  such  a  goblet  before  it  went 
to  whom  Catherine  de'  Medici  delighted  to  honor." 

"  She  had  the  whitest  hands,"  maundered  the  Sec 
retary.  "  I  kissed  them  once  before  she  died,  in  Blois, 
when  I  was  young.  Rene  was  one  of  your  slow  poison 
ers.  Smell  a  rose,  draw  on  a  pair  of  perfumed  gloves, 
drink  from  a  certain  cup,  and  you  rang  your  own 
knell,  though  your  bier  might  not  receive  you  for 
many  and  many  a  day,  —  not  till  the  rose  was  dust, 
the  gloves  lost,  the  cup  forgotten." 

"  There 's  a  fashion  I  have  seen  followed  abroad, 
that  I  like,"  I  said.  "  Host  and  guest  fill  to  each  other, 
then  change  tankards.  You  are  my  host  to-day,  my 
lord,  and  I  am  your  guest.  I  will  drink  to  you,  my 
lord,  from  your  silver  goblet." 

With  as  frank  a  manner  as  his  own  of  a  while  be 
fore,  I  pushed  the  green  and  gold  glass  over  to  him, 
and  held  out  my  hand  for  the  silver  goblet.  That  a 
man  may  smile  and  smile  and  be  a  villain  is  no  new 
doctrine.  My  lord's  laugh  and  gesture  of  courtesy 


"OF  A  QUITE  SINISTER  BEAUTY,  MY  LORD' 


I  AM  RID  OF  AN  UNPROFITABLE  SERVANT    147 

were  as  free  and  ready  as  if  the  poisoned  splendor 
he  drew  toward  him  had  been  as  innocent  as  a  pearl 
within  the  shell.  I  took  the  silver  cup  from  before 
him.  "  I  drink  to  the  King,"  I  said,  and  drained  it 
to  the  bottom.  "  Your  lordship  does  not  drink.  'T  is 
a  toast  no  man  refuses." 

He  raised  the  glass  to  his  lips,  but  set  it  down  be- 
Dre  its  rim  had  touched  them.  "  I  have  a  headache," 
e  declared.  "  I  will  not  drink  to-day." 

Master  Pory  pulled  the  flagon  toward  him,  tilted  it, 
And  found  it  empty.  His  rueful  face  made  me  laugh. 
My  lord  laughed  too,  —  somewhat  loudly,  —  but  or 
dered  no  more  wine.  "  I  would  I  were  at  the  Mer 
maid  again,"  lamented  the  now  drunken  Secretary. 
"  There  we  did  n't  split  a  flagon  in  three  parts.  .  .  . 
The  Tsar  of  Muscovy  drinks  me  down  a  quartern  of 
aqua  vitae  at  a  gulp,  —  I  've  seen  him  do  it.  ...  I 
would  I  were  the  Bacchus  on  this  cup,  with  the  purple 
grapes  adangle  above  me.  .  .  .  Wine  and  women  — 
wine  and  women  .  .  .  good  wine  needs  no  bush  .  .  . 
good  sherris  sack  "...  His  voice  died  into  unintel 
ligible  mutterings,  and  his  gray  unreverend  head  sank 
upon  the  table. 

I  rose,  leaving  him  to  his  drunken  slumbers,  and, 
bowing  to  my  lord,  took  my  leave.  My  lord  followed 
me  down  to  the  public  room  below.  A  party  of  up- 
river  planters  had  been  drinking,  and  a  bit  of  chalk 
lay  upon  a  settle  behind  the  door  upon  which  the 
landlord  had  marked  their  score.  I  passed  it ;  then 
turned  back  and  picked  it  up.  "  How  long  a  line  shall 
I  draw,  my  lord  ?  "  I  asked  with  a  smile. 

"  How  does  the  length  of  the  door  strike  you  ?  "  he 
answered. 

I  drew  the  chalk  from  top  to  bottom  of  the  wood. 


148  TO   HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

"  A  heavy  score  makes  a  heavy  reckoning,  my  lord," 
I  said,  and,  leaving  the  mark  upon  the  door,  I  bowed 
again  and  went  out  into  the  street. 

The  sun  was  sinking  when  I  reached  the  minis 
ter's  house,  and  going  into  the  great  room  drew  a 
stool  to  the  table  and  sat  down  to  think.  Mistress 
Percy  was  in  her  own  chamber ;  in  the  room  overhead 
the  minister  paced  up  and  down,  humming  a  psalm. 
A  fire  was  burning  briskly  upon  the  hearth,  and  the 
red  light  rose  and  fell,  —  now  brightening  all  the 
room,  now  leaving  it  to  the  gathering  dusk.  Through 
the  door,  which  I  had  left  open,  came  the  odor  of  the 
pines,  the  fallen  leaves,  and  the  damp  earth.  In  the 
churchyard  an  owl  hooted,  and  the  murmur  of  the 
river  was  louder  than  usual. 

I  had  sat  staring  at  the  table  before  me  for  perhaps 
half  an  hour,  when  I  chanced  to  raise  my  eyes  to  the 
opposite  wall.  Now,  on  this  wall,  reflecting  the  fire 
light  and  the  open  door  behind  me,  hung  a  small 
Venetian  mirror,  which  I  had  bought  from  a  number 
of  such  toys  brought  in  by  the  Southampton,  and 
had  given  to  Mistress  Percy.  My  eyes  rested  upon  it, 
idly  at  first,  then  closely  enough  as  I  saw  within  it  a 
man  enter  the  room.  I  had  heard  no  footfall ;  there 
was  no  noise  now  behind  me.  The  fire  was  somewhat 
sunken,  and  the  room  was  almost  in  darkness  ;  I  saw 
him  in  the  glass  dimly,  as  shadow  rather  than  sub 
stance.  But  the  light  was  not  so  faint  that  the  mir 
ror  could  not  show  me  the  raised  hand  and  the  dagger 
within  its  grasp.  I  sat  without  motion,  watching  the 
figure  in  the  glass  grow  larger.  When  it  was  nearly 
upon  me,  and  the  hand  with  the  dagger  drawn  back 
for  the  blow,  I  sprang  up,  wheeled,  and  caught  it  by 
the  wrist. 


I  AM  RID  OF  AN  UNPROFITABLE  SERVANT    149 

A  moment's  fierce  struggle,  and  I  had  the  dagger 
in  my  own  hand  and  the  man  at  my  mercy.  The  fire 
upon  the  hearth  seized  on  a  pine  knot  and  blazed  up 
brightly,  filling  the  room  with  light.  "  Diccon  !  "  I 
cried,  and  dropped  my  arm. 

I  had  never  thought  of  this.  The  room  was  very 
quiet  as,  master  and  man,  we  stood  and  looked  each 
other  in  the  face.  He  fell  back  to  the  wall  and  leaned 
against  it,  breathing  heavily ;  into  the  space  between 
us  the  past  came  thronging. 

I  opened  my  hand  and  let  the  dagger  drop  to  the 
floor.  "  I  suppose  that  this  was  because  of  last 
night,"  I  said.  "  I  shall  never  strike  you  again." 

I  went  to  the  table,  and  sitting  down  leaned  my 
forehead  upon  my  hand.  It  was  Diccon  who  would 
have  done  this  thing !  The  fire  crackled  on  the  hearth 
as  had  crackled  the  old  camp  fires  in  Flanders ;  the 
wind  outside  was  the  wind  that  had  whistled  through 
the  rigging  of  the  Treasurer,  one  terrible  night  when 
we  lashed  ourselves  to  the  same  mast  and  never 
thought  to  see  the  morning,,  Diccon  ! 

Upon  the  table  was  the  minister's  inkhorn  and  pen. 
I  drew  my  tablets  from  the  breast  of  my  doublet  and 
began  to  write.  "  Diccon  !  "  I  called,  without  turn 
ing,  when  I  had  finished. 

He  came  slowly  forward  to  the  table,  and  stood  be 
side  it  with  hanging  head.  I  tore  the  leaf  from  the 
book  and  pushed  it  over  to  him.  "  Take  it,"  I  ordered. 

"To  the  commander?"  he  asked.  "I  am  to  take 
it  to  the  commander?  " 

I  shook  my  head.     "  Read  it." 

He  stared  at  it  vacantly,  turning  it  now  this  way, 
now  that. 

"  Did  you  forget  how  to  read  when  you  forgot  all 
else  ?  "  I  said  sternly. 


150  TO   HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

He  read,  and  the  color  rushed  into  his  face. 

"  It  is  your  freedom,"  I  said.  "  You  are  no  longer 
man  of  mine.  Begone,  sirrah !  " 

He  crumpled  the  paper  in  his  hand.  "  I  was  mad," 
he  muttered. 

"  I  could  almost  believe  it,"  I  replied.     "  Begone  !  " 

After  a  moment  he  went.  Sitting  still  in  my  place, 
I  heard  him  heavily  and  slowly  leave  the  room,  descend 
the  step  at  the  door,  and  go  out  into  the  night. 

A  door  opened,  and  Mistress  Jocelyn  Percy  came 
into  the  great  room,  like  a  sunbeam  strayed  back  to 
earth.  Her  skirt  was  of  flowered  satin,  her  bodice 
of  rich  taffeta ;  between  the  gossamer  walls  of  her 
French  ruff  rose  the  whitest  neck  to  meet  the  fairest 
face.  Upon  her  dark  hair  sat,  as  lightly  as  a  kiss,  a 
little  pearl-bordered  cap.  A  color  was  in  her  cheeks 
and  a  laugh  on  her  lips.  The  rosy  light  of  the  burn 
ing  pine  caressed  her,  —  now  dwelling  on  the  rich 
dress,  now  on  the  gold  chain  around  the  slender 
waist,  now  on  rounded  arms,  now  on  the  white  fore 
head  below  the  pearls.  Well,  she  was  a  fair  lady  for 
a  man  to  lay  down  his  life  for. 

"  I  held  court  this  afternoon  !  "  she  cried.  "  Where 
were  you,  sir  ?  Madam  West  was  here,  and  my  Lady 
Temperance  Yeardley,  and  Master  Wynne,  and  Mas 
ter  Thorpe  from  Henricus,  and  Master  Kolfe  with  his 
Indian  brother,  —  who,  I  protest,  needs  but  silk  doub 
let  and  hose  and  a  month  at  Whitehall  to  make  him 
a  very  fine  gentleman." 

"  If  courage,  steadfastness,  truth,  and  courtesy  make 
a  gentleman,"  I  said,  "he  is  one  already.  Such  an 
one  needs  not  silk  doublet  nor  court  training." 

She  looked  at  me  with  her  bright  eyes.  "  No,"  she 
repeated,  "such  an  one  needs  not  silk  doublet  nor 


I  AM  RID  OF  AN  UNPROFITABLE  SERVANT    151 

court  training."  Going  to  the  firex  she  stood  with 
one  hand  upon  the  mantelshelf,  looking  down  into  the 
ruddy  hollows.  Presently  she  stooped  and  gathered 
up  something  from  the  hearth.  "You  waste  paper 
strangely,  Captain  Percy,"  she  said.  "  Here  is  a 
whole  handful  of  torn  pieces." 

She  came  over  to  the  table,  and  with  a  laugh  show 
ered  the  white  fragments  down  upon  it,  then  fell  to 
idly  piecing  them  together.  "  What  were  you  writ 
ing?  "  she  asked.  "  4  To  all  whom  it  may  concern  :  I, 
Ralph  Percy,  Gentleman,  of  the  Hundred  of  Weya- 
noke,  do  hereby  set  free  from  all  service  to  me  and 
mine'"  — 

I  took  from  her  the  bits  of  paper,  and  fed  the  fire 
with  them.  "Paper  is  but  paper,"  I  said.  "It  is 
easily  rent.  Happily  a  man's  will  is  more  durable." 


CHAPTER  XVII 

IN   WHICH    MY    LORD   AND   I   PLAY   AT   BOWLS 

THE  Governor  had  brought  with  him  from  London, 
the  year  before,  a  set  of  boxwood  bowls,  and  had  made, 
between  his  house  and  the  fort,  a  noble  green.  The 
generality  must  still  use  for  the  game  that  portion 
of  the  street  that  was  not  tobacco-planted ;  but  the 
quality  flocked  to  the  Governor's  green,  and  here, 
one  holiday  afternoon,  a  fortnight  or  more  from  the 
day  in  which  I  had  drunk  to  the  King  from  my  lord's 
silver  goblet,  was  gathered  a  very  great  company. 
The  Governor's  match  was  toward, — ten  men  to  a 
side,  a  hogshead  of  sweet-scented  to  the  victorious  ten, 
and  a  keg  of  canary  to  the  man  whose  bowl  should 
hit  the  jack. 

The  season  had  been  one  of  unusual  mildness,  and 
the  sunshine  was  still  warm  and  bright,  gilding  the 
velvet  of  the  green,  and  making  the  red  and  yellow 
leaves  swept  into  the  trench  to  glow  like  a  ribbon  of 
flame.  The  sky  was  blue,  the  water  bluer  still,  the 
leaves  bright-colored,  the  wind  blowing ;  only  the 
enshrouding  forest,  wrapped  in  haze,  seemed  as  dim, 
unreal,  and  far  away  as  a  last  year's  dream. 

The  Governor's  gilt  armchair  had  been  brought 
from  the  church,  and  put  for  him  upon  the  bank  of 
turf  at  the  upper  end  of  the  green.  By  his  side  sat 
my  Lady  Temperance,  while  the  gayly  dressed  dames 
and  the  men  who  were  to  play  and  to  watch  were 


MY  LORD  AND  I  PLAY  AT  BOWLS          153 

accommodated  with  stools  and  settles  or  with  seats  on 
the  green  grass.  All  were  dressed  in  holiday  clothes, 
all  tongues  spoke,  all  eyes  laughed ;  you  might  have 
thought  there  was  not  a  heavy  heart  amongst  them. 
Rolfe  was  there,  gravely  courteous,  quiet  and  ready  ; 
and  by  his  side,  in  otterskin  mantle,  beaded  moccasins, 
and  feathered  headdress,  the  Indian  chief,  his  brother- 
in-law,  —  the  bravest,  comeliest,  and  manliest  savage 
with  whom  I  have  ever  dealt.  There,  too,  was  Mas 
ter  Pory,  red  and  jovial,  with  an  eye  to  the  sack  the 
servants  were  bringing  from  the  Governor's  house; 
and  the  commander,  with  his  wife  ;  and  Master  Jer 
emy  Sparrow,  fresh  from  a  most  moving  sermon  on 
the  vanities  of  this  world.  Captains,  Councilors,  and 
Burgesses  aired  their  gold  lace,  and  their  wit  or  their 
lack  of  it;  while  a  swarm  of  younger  adventurers, 
youths  of  good  blood  and  bad  living,  come  from  home 
for  the  weal  of  England  and  the  woe  of  Virginia, 
went  here  and  there  through  the  crowd  like  gilded 
summer  flies. 

Rolfe  and  I  were  to  play ;  he  sat  on  the  grass  at 
the  feet  of  Mistress  Jocelyn  Percy,  making  her  now 
and  then  some  courtly  speech,  and  I  stood  beside  her, 
my  hand  on  the  back  of  her  chair. 

The  King's  ward  held  court  as  though  she  were  a 
king's  daughter.  In  the  brightness  of  her  beauty  she 
sat  there,  as  gracious  for  the  nonce  as  the  sunshine, 
and  as  much  of  another  world.  All  knew  her  story, 
and  to  the  daring  that  is  in  men's  hearts  her  own  dar 
ing  appealed,  —  and  she  was  young  and  very  beautiful. 
Some  there  had  not  been  my  friends,  and  now  rejoiced 
in  what  seemed  my  inevitable  ruin ;  some  whom  I  had 
thought  my  friends  were  gone  over  to  the  stronger 
side ;  many  who  in  secret  wished  me  well  still  shook 


154  TO   HAVE  AND  TO   HOLD 

their  heads  and  shrugged  their  shoulders  over  what 
they  were  pleased  to  call  my  madness ;  but  for  her,  I 
was  glad  to  know,  there  were  only  good  words.  The 
Governor  had  left  his  gilt  armchair  to  welcome  her  to 
the  green,  and  had  caused  a  chair  to  be  set  for  her 
near  his  own,  and  here  men  came  and  bowed  before 
her  as  if  she  had  been  a  princess  indeed. 

A  stir  amongst  the  crowd,  a  murmur,  and  a  craning 
of  necks  heralded  the  approach  of  that  other  at  whom 
the  town  gaped  with  admiration.  He  came  with  his 
retinue  of  attendants,  his  pomp  of  dress,  his  arrogance 
of  port,  his  splendid  beauty.  Men  looked  from  the 
beauty  of  the  King's  ward  to  the  beauty  of  the  King's 
minion,  from  her  costly  silk  to  his  velvet  and  miniver, 
from  the  air  of  the  court  that  became  her  well  to  the 
towering  pride  and  insolence  which  to  the  thoughtless 
seemed  his  fortune's  proper  mantle,  and  deemed  them 
a  pair  well  suited,  and  the  King's  will  indeed  the  will 
of  Heaven. 

I  was  never  one  to  value  a  man  by  his  outward 
seeming,  but  suddenly  I  saw  myself  as  in  a  mirror,  — 
a  soldier,  scarred  and  bronzed,  acquainted  with  the 
camp,  but  not  with  the  court,  roughened  by  a  rude 
life,  poor  in  this  world's  goods,  the  first  flush  of  youth 
gone  forever.  For  a  moment  my  heart  was  bitter 
within  me.  The  pang  passed,  and  my  hand  tightened 
its  grasp  upon  the  chair  in  which  sat  the  woman  I  had 
wed.  She  was  my  wife,  and  I  would  keep  my  own. 

My  lord  had  paused  to  speak  to  the  Governor,  who 
had  risen  to  greet  him.  Now  he  came  toward  us,  and 
the  crowd  pressed  and  whispered.  He  bowed  low  to 
Mistress  Percy,  made  as  if  to  pass  on,  then  came  to 
a  stop  before  her,  his  hat  in  his  hand,  his  handsome 
head  bent,  a  smile  upon  his  bearded  lips. 


MY  LORD   AND  I   PLAY  AT  BOWLS  155 

, "  When  was  it  that  we  last  sat  to  see  men  bowl, 
lady  ?  "  he  said.  "  I  remember  a  gay  match  when  I 
bowled  against  my  Lord  of  Buckingham,  and  fair 
ladies  sat  and  smiled  upon  us.  The  fairest  laughed, 
and  tied  her  colors  around  my  arm." 

The  lady  whom  he  addressed  sat  quietly,  with  hands 
folded  in  her  silken  lap  and  an  untroubled  face.  "  I 
did  not  know  you  then,  my  lord,"  she  answered  him, 
quite  softly  and  sweetly.  "  Had  I  done  so,  be  sure  I 
would  have  cut  my  hand  off  ere  it  gave  color  of  mine 
to"  — 

"  To  whom  ?  "  he  demanded,  as  she  paused. 

"  To  a  coward,  my  lord,"  she  said  clearly. 

As  if  she  had  been  a  man,  his  hand  went  to  his 
sword  hilt.  As  for  her,  she  leaned  back  in  her  chair 
and  looked  at  him  with  a  smile. 

He  spoke  at  last,  slowly  and  with  deliberate  em 
phasis.  "  I  won  then,"  he  said.  "  I  shall  win  again, 
my  lady,  —  my  Lady  Jocelyn  Leigh." 

I  dropped  my  hand  from  her  chair  and  stepped  for 
ward.  "It  is  my  wife  to  whom  you  speak,  my  Lord 
Carnal,"  I  said  sternly.  "  I  wait  to  hear  you  name 
her  rightly." 

Rolfe  rose  from  the  grass  and  stood  beside  me,  and 
Jeremy  Sparrow,  shouldering  aside  with  scant  cere 
mony  Burgess  and  Councilor,  came  also.  The  Gov 
ernor  leaned  forward  out  of  his  chair,  and  the  crowd 
became  suddenly  very  still. 

"  I  am  waiting,  my  lord,"  I  repeated. 

In  an  instant,  from  what  he  had  been  he  became 
the  frank  and  guileless  nobleman.  "  A  slip  of  the 
tongue,  Captain  Percy ! "  he  cried,  his  white  teeth 
showing  and  his  hand  raised  in  a  gesture  of  depreca 
tion.  "  A  natural  thing,  seeing  how  often,  how  very 


156  TO   HAVE  AND  TO   HOLD 

often,  I  have  so  addressed  this  lady  in  the  days  when 
we  had  not  the  pleasure  of  your  acquaintance."  He 
turned  to  her  and  bowed,  until  the  feather  in  his  hat 
swept  the  ground.  "  I  won  then,"  he  said.  "  I  shall 
win  again  —  Mistress  Percy,"  and  passed  on  to  the 
seat  that  had  been  reserved  for  him. 

The  game  began.  I  was  to  lead  one  side,  and  young 
Clement  the  other.  At  the  last  moment  he  came 
over  to  me.  "  I  am  out  of  it,  Captain  Percy,"  he 
announced  with  a  rueful  face.  "  My  lord  there  asks 
me  to  give  him  my  place.  When  we  were  hunting  yes 
terday,  and  the  stag  turned  upon  me,  he  came  between 
and  thrust  his  knife  into  the  brute,  which  else  might 
have  put  an  end  to  my  hunting  forever  and  a  day  :  so 
you  see  I  can't  refuse  him.  Plague  take  it  all !  and 
Dorothy  Gookin  sitting  there  watching  !  " 

My  lord  and  I  stood  forward,  each  with  a  bowl  in 
his  hand.  We  looked  toward  the  Governor.  "  My 
lord  first,  as  becometh  his  rank,"  he  said.  My  lord 
stooped  and  threw,  and  his  bowl  went  swiftly  over  the 
grass,  turned,  and  rested  not  a  hands'-breadth  from  the 
jack.  I  threw.  "  One  is  as  near  as  the  other !  "  cried 
Master  Macocke  for  the  judges.  A  murmur  arose 
from  the  crowd,  and  my  lord  swore  beneath  his  breath. 
He  and  I  retreated  to  our  several  sides,  and  Eolfe 
and  West  took  our  places.  While  they  and  those  that 
followed  bowled,  the  crowd,  attentive  though  it  was, 
still  talked  and  laughed,  and  laid  wagers  upon  its 
favorites  ;  but  when  my  lord  and  I  again  stood  forth, 
the  noise  was  hushed,  and  men  and  women  stared  with 
all  their  eyes.  He  delivered,  and  his  bowl  touched 
the  jack.  He  straightened  himself,  with  a  smile,  and 
I  heard  Jeremy  Sparrow  behind  me  groan ;  but  my 
bowl  too  kissed  the  jack.  The  crowd  began  to  laugh 


MY  LORD  AND  I  PLAY  AT  BOWLS          157 

with  sheer  delight,  but  my  lord  turned  red  and  his 
brows  drew  together.  We  had  but  one  turn  more. 
While  we  waited,  I  marked  his  black  eyes  studying 
every  inch  of  the  ground  between  him  and  that  small 
white  ball,  to  strike  which,  at  that  moment,  I  verily 
believe  he  would  have  given  the  King's  favor.  All 
men  pray,  though  they  pray  not  to  the  same  god.  As 
he  stood  there,  when  his  time  had  come,  weighing 
the  bowl  in  his  hand,  I  knew  that  Jie  prayed  to  his 
daemon,  fate,  star,  whatever  thing  he  raised  an  altar  to 
and  bent  before.  He  threw,  and  I  followed,  while  the 
throng  held  its  breath.  Master  Macocke  rose  to  his 
feet.  "  It 's  a  tie,  my  masters  ! "  he  exclaimed. 

The  excited  crowd  surged  forward,  and  a  babel  of 
voices  arose.  "  Silence,  all !  "  cried  the  Governor. 
"Let  them  play  it  out!  " 

My  lord  threw,  and  his  bowl  stopped  perilously 
near  the  shining  mark.  As  I  stepped  to  my  place  a 
low  and  supplicating  "O  Lord  !"  came  to  my  ears 
from  the  lips  and  the  heart  of  the  preacher,  who  had 
that  morning  thundered  against  the  toys  of  this  world. 
I  drew  back  my  arm  and  threw  with  all  my  force. 
A  cry  arose  from  the  throng,  and  my  lord  ground 
his  heel  into  the  earth.  The  bowl,  spurning  the  jack 
before  it,  rushed  on,  until  both  buried  themselves  in 
the  red  and  yellow  leaves  that  filled  the  trench. 

I  turned  and  bowed  to  my  antagonist.  "  You  bowl 
well,  my  lord,"  I  said.  "  Had  you  had  the  forest 
training  of  eye  and  arm,  our  fortunes  might  have 
been  reversed." 

He  looked  me  up  and  down.  "You  are  kind,  sir," 
he  said  thickly.  "  4  To-day  to  thee,  to-morrow  to  me/ 
I  give  you  joy  of  your  petty  victory." 

He  turned  squarely  from  me,  and  stood  with  his 


158  TO   HAVE   AND  TO   HOLD 

face  downstream.     I  was  speaking  to  Rolfe  and  to  the 
few  —  not  even  all  of  that  side  for  which  I  had  won 

—  who  pressed  around  me,  when  he  wheeled. 

64  Your  Honor,"  he  cried  to  the  Governor,  who  had 
paused  beside  Mistress  Percy,  "is  not  the  Due  Re 
turn  high-pooped  ?  Doth  she  not  carry  a  blue  pen 
nant,  and  hath  she  not  a  gilt  siren  for  figurehead?  " 

"Ay,"  answered  the  Governor,  lifting  his  head 
from  the  hand  he.  had  kissed  with  ponderous  gallantry. 
"  What  then,  my  lord?" 

"Then  to-morrow  has  dawned,  sir  captain,"  said 
my  lord  to  me.  "  Sure,  Dame  Venus  and  her  blind 
son  have  begged  for  me  favorable  winds  ;  for  the 
Due  Return  has  come  again." 

The  game  that  had  been  played  was  forgotten  for 
that  day.  The  hogshead  of  sweet-scented,  lying  to 
one  side,  wreathed  with  bright  vines,  was  unclaimed 
of  either  party;  the  servants  who  brought  forward 
the  keg  of  canary  dropped  their  burden,  and  stared 
with  the  rest.  All  looked  down  the  river,  and  all  saw 
the  Due  Return  coming  up  the  broad,  ruffled  stream, 
tiie  wind  from  the  sea  filling  her  sails,  the  tide  with 
her,  the  gilt  mermaid  on  her  prow  just  rising  from  the 
rushing  foam.  She  came  as  swiftly  as  a  bird  to  its 
nest.  None  had  thought  to  see  her  for  at  least  ten  days. 

Upon  all  there  fell  a  sudden  realization  that  it  was 
the  word  of  the  King,  feathered  by  the  command  of 
the  Company,  that  was  hurrying,  arrow-like,  toward 
us.  All  knew  what  the  Company's  orders  would  be, 

—  must  needs  be,  —  and  the  Tudor  sovereigns  were 
not  so  long  in  the  grave  that  men  had  forgot  to  fear 
the  wrath  of  kings.     The  crowd  drew  back  from  me 
as  from  a  man  plague-spotted.     Only  Rolfe,  Sparrow, 
and  the  Indian  stood  their  ground. 


MY  LORD   AND  I  PLAY  AT  BOWLS          159 

The  Governor  turned  from  staring  downstream. 
"The  game  is  played,  gentlemen,"  he  announced 
abruptly.  "  The  wind  grows  colder,  too,  and  clouds 
are  gathering.  This  fair  company  will  pardon  me  if 
I  dismiss  them  somewhat  sooner  than  is  our  wont. 
The  next  sunny  day  we  will  play  again.  Give  you 
God  den,  gentles." 

The  crowd  stood  not  upon  the  order  of  its  going, 
but  streamed  away  to  the  river  bank,  whence  it  could 
best  watch  the  oncoming  ship.  My  lord,  after  a  most 
triumphant  bow,  swept  off  with  his  train  in  the  di 
rection  of  the  guest  house.  With  him  went  Master 
Pory.  The  Governor  drew  nearer  to  me.  "  Captain 
Percy,"  he  said,  lowering  his  voice,  "  I  am  going  now 
to  mine  own  house.  The  letters  which  yonder  ship 
brings  will  be  in  my  hands  in  less  than  an  hour. 
When  I  have  read  them,  I  shall  perforce  obey  their 
instructions.  Before  I  have  them  I  will  see  you,  if 
you  so  wish." 

"  I  will  be  with  your  Honor  in  five  minutes." 

He  nodded,  and  strode  off  across  the  green  to  his 
garden.  I  turned  to  Rolfe.  "Will  you  take  her 
home  ?  "  I  said  briefly.  She  was  so  white  and  sat  so 
still  in  her  chair  that  I  feared  to  see  her  swoon.  But 
when  I  spoke  to  her  she  answered  clearly  and  stead 
ily  enough,  even  with  a  smile,  and  she  would  not  lean 
upon  Rolfe's  arm.  "  I  will  walk  alone,"  she  said. 
"  None  that  see  me  shall  think  that  I  am  stricken 
down."  I  watched  her  move  away,  Rolfe  beside  her, 
and  the  Indian  following  with  his  noiseless  step ;  then 
I  went  to  the  Governor's  house.  Master  Jeremy 
Sparrow  had  disappeared  some  minutes  before,  I 
knew  not  whither. 

I  found  Yeardley  in  his  great  room,  standing  before 


160  TO   HAVE  AND   TO   HOLD 

a  fire  and  staring  down  into  its  hollows.  "  Captain 
Percy,"  he  said,  as  I  went  up  to  him,  "  I  am  most 
heartily  sorry  for  you  and  for  the  lady  whom  you  so 
ignorantly  married." 

"  I  shall  not  plead  ignorance,"  I  told  him. 

"  You  married,  not  the  Lady  Jocelyn  Leigh,  but  a 
waiting  woman  named  Patience  Worth.  The  Lady 
Jocelyn  Leigh,  a  noble  lady,  and  a  ward  of  the  King, 
could  not  marry  without  the  King's  consent.  And 
you,  Captain  Percy,  are  but  a  mere  private  gentleman, 
a  poor  Virginia  adventurer ;  and  my  Lord  Carnal  is 
—  my  Lord  Carnal.  The  Court  of  High  Commission 
will  make  short  work  of  this  fantastic  marriage." 

"  Then  they  may  do  it  without  my  aid,"  I  said. 
"  Come,  Sir  George,  had  you  wed  my  Lady  Temper 
ance  in  such  fashion,  and  found  this  hornets'  nest 
about  your  ears,  what  would  you  have  done  ?  " 

He  gave  his  short,  honest  laugh.  "  It 's  beside  the 
question,  Ralph  Percy,  but  I  dare  say  you  can  guess 
what  I  would  have  done." 

"  I  '11  fight  for  my  own  to  the  last  ditch,"  I  con 
tinued.  "I  married  her  knowing  her  name,  if  not 
her  quality.  Had  I  known  the  latter,  had  I  known 
she  was  the  King's  ward,  all  the  same  I  should  have 
married  her,  an  she  would  have  had  me.  She  is  my 
wife  in  the  sight  of  God  and  honest  men.  Esteeming 
her  honor,  which  is  mine,  at  stake,  Death  may  silence 
me,  but  men  shall  not  bend  me." 

"  Your  best  hope  is  in  my  Lord  of  Buckingham," 
he  said.  "  They  say  it  is  out  of  sight,  out  of  mind, 
with  the  King,  and,  thanks  to  this  infatuation  of  my 
Lord  Carnal's,  Buckingham  hath  the  field.  That  he 
strains  every  nerve  to  oust  completely  this  his  first 
rival  since  he  himself  distanced  Somerset  goes  without 


MY  LORD   AND  I  PLAY  AT  BOWLS         161 

saying.  That  to  thwart  my  lord  in  this  passion  would 
be  honey  to  him  is  equally  of  course.  I  do  not  need 
to  tell  you  that,  if  the  Company  so  orders,  I  shall 
have  no  choice  but  to  send  you  and  the  lady  home  to 
England.  When  you  are  in  London,  make  your  suit 
to  my  Lord  of  Buckingham,  and  I  earnestly  hope 
that  you  may  find  in  him  an  ally  powerful  enough  to 
bring  you  and  the  lady,  to  whose  grace,  beauty,  and 
courage  we  all  do  homage,  out  of  this  coil." 

"  We  give  you  thanks,  sir,"  I  said. 

"  As  you  know,"  he  went  on,  "  I  have  written  to 
the  Company,  humbly  petitioning  that  I  be  graciously 
relieved  from  a  most  thankless  task,  to  wit,  the  gov 
ernorship  of  Virginia.  My  health  faileth,  and  I  am, 
moreover,  under  my  Lord  Warwick's  displeasure. 
He  waxeth  ever  stronger  in  the  Company,  and  if  I 
put  not  myself  out,  he  will  do  it  for  me.  If  I  be  re 
lieved  at  once,  and  one  of  the  Council  appointed  in 
my  place,  I  shall  go  home  to  look  after  certain  of  my 
interests  there.  Then  shall  I  be  but  a  private  gentle 
man,  and  if  I  can  serve  you,  Ralph  Percy,  I  shall  be 
blithe  to  do  so  ;  but  now,  you  understand  "  — 

"  I  understand,  and  thank  you,  Sir  George,"  I  said. 
"  May  I  ask  one  question  ?  " 

"What  is  it?" 

"  Will  you  obey  to  the  letter  the  instructions  the 
Company  sends  ?  " 

"  To  the  letter,"  he  answered.  "  I  am  its  sworn 
officer." 

"  One  thing  more,"  I  went  on :  "  the  parole  I  gave 
you,  sir,  that  morning  behind  the  church,  is  mine  own 
again  when  you  shall  have  read  those  letters  and 
know  the  King's  will.  I  am  free  from  that  bond,  at 
least." 


162  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

He  looked  at  me  with  a  frown.  "  Make  not  bad 
worse,  Captain  Percy,"  he  said  sternly. 

I  laughed.  "  It  is  my  aim  to  make  bad  better,  Sir 
George.  I  see  through  the  window  that  the  Due  Re 
turn  hath  come  to  anchor ;  I  will  no  longer  trespass 
on  your  Honor's  time."  I  bowed  myself  out,  leaving 
him  still  with  the  frown  upon  his  face,  staring  at  the 
fire. 

Without,  the  Tvorld  was  bathed  in  the  glow  of  a 
magnificent  sunset.  Clouds,  dark  purple  and  dark 
crimson,  reared  themselves  in  the  west  to  dizzy  heights, 
and  hung  threateningly  over  the  darkening  land  be 
neath.  In  the  east  loomed  more  pallid  masses,  and 
from  the  bastions  of  the  east  to  the  bastions  of  the 
west  went  hurrying,  wind-driven  cloudlets,  dark  in 
the  east,  red  in  the  west.  There  was  a  high  wind,  and 
the  river,  where  it  was  not  reddened  by  the  sunset, 
was  lividly  green.  "  A  storm,  too  !  "  I  muttered. 

As  I  passed  the  guest  house,  there  came  to  me  from 
within  a  burst  of  loud  and  vaunting  laughter  and  a 
boisterous  drinking  catch  sung  by  many  voices  ;  and  I 
knew  that  my  lord  drank,  and  gave  others  to  drink,  to 
the  orders  which  the  Due  Return  should  bring.  The 
minister's  house  was  in  darkness.  In  the  great  room 
I  struck  a  light  and  fired  the  fresh  torches,  and  found 
I  was  not  its  sole  occupant.  On  the  hearth,  the  ashes 
of  the  dead  fire  touching  her  skirts,  sat  Mistress  Joce- 
lyn  Percy,  her  arms  resting  upon  a  low  stool,  and  her 
head  pillowed  upon  them.  Her  face  was  not  hidden  : 
it  was  cold  and  pure  and  still,  like  carven  marble.  I 
stood  and  gazed  at  her  a  moment ;  then,  as  she  did 
not  offer  to  move,  I  brought  wood  to  the  fire  and  made 
the  forlorn  room  bright  again. 

"  Where  is  Rolfe  ?  "  I  asked  at  last. 


MY  LORD  AND  I  PLAY  AT  BOWLS          163 

"  He  would  have  stayed,"  she  answered,  "  but  I 
made  him  go.  I  wished  to  be  alone."  She  rose,  and 
going  to  the  window  leaned  her  forehead  against  the 
bars,  and  looked  out  upon  the  wild  sky  and  the  hur 
rying  river.  "  I  would  I  were  alone,"  she  said  in  a 
low  voice  and  with  a  catch  of  her  breath.  As  she 
stood  there  in  the  twilight  by  the  window,  I  knew  that 
she  was  weeping,  though  her  pride  strove  to  keep  that 
knowledge  from  me.  My  heart  ached  for  her,  and  I 
knew  not  how  to  comfort  her.  At  last  she  turned.  A 
pasty  and  stoup  of  wine  were  upon  the  table. 

"  You  are  tired  and  shaken,"  I  said,  "  and  you  may 
need  all  your  strength.  Come,  eat  and  drink." 

"  For  to-morrow  we  die,"  she  added,  and  broke  into 
tremulous  laughter.  Her  lashes  were  still  wet,  but 
her  pride  and  daring  had  returned.  She  drank  the 
wine  I  poured  for  her,  and  we  spoke  of  indifferent 
things,  —  of  the  game  that  afternoon,  of  the  Indian 
Nantauquas,  of  the  wild  night  that  clouds  and  wind 
portended.  Supper  over,  I  called  Angela  to  bear  her 
company,  and  I  myself  went  out  into  the  night,  and 
down  the  street  toward  the  guest  house. 


CHAPTER   XVIII 
IN    WHICH   WE   GO   OUT   INTO   THE   NIGHT 

THE  guest  house  was  aflame  with  lights.  As  I 
neared  it,  there  was  borne  to  my  ears  a  burst  of 
drunken  shouts  accompanied  by  a  volley  of  musketry. 
My  lord  was  pursuing  with  a  vengeance  our  senseless 
fashion  of  wasting  in  drinking  bouts  powder  that 
would  have  been  better  spent  against  the  Indians. 
The  noise  increased.  The  door  was  flung  open,  and 
there  issued  a  tide  of  drawers  and  servants  headed  by 
mine  host  himself,  and  followed  by  a  hail  of  such 
minor  breakables  as  the  house  contained  and  by 
Olympian  laughter. 

I  made  my  way  past  the  indignant  host  and  his 
staff,  and  standing  upon  the  threshold  looked  at 
the  riot  within.  The  long  room  was  thick  with  the 
smoke  of  tobacco  and  the  smoke  of  powder,  through 
which  the  many  torches  burned  yellow.  Upon  the 
great  table  wine  had  been  spilt,  and  dripped  to  swell 
a  red  pool  upon  the  floor.  Underneath  the  table,  still 
grasping  his  empty  tankard,  lay  the  first  of  my  lord's 
guests  to  fall,  an  up-river  Burgess  with  white  hair. 
The  rest  of  the  company  were  fast  reeling  to  a  like 
fate.  Young  Hamor  had  a  fiddle,  and,  one  foot  upon 
a  settle,  the  other  upon  the  table,  drew  across  it  a  fast 
and  furious  bow.  Master  Pory,  arrived  at  the  maud 
lin  stage,  alternately  sang  a  slow  and  melancholy  ditty 
and  wiped  the  tears  from  his  eyes  with  elaborate  care. 


IN  WHICH  WE  GO   OUT  INTO   THE   NIGHT    165 

Master  Edward  Sharpless,  now  in  a  high  voice,  now 
in  an  ^indistinguishable  murmur,  argued  some  imagi 
nary  case.  Peaceable  Sherwood  was  drunk,  and  Giles 
Allen,  and  Pettiplace  Clause.  Captain  John  Martin, 
sitting  with  outstretched  legs,  called  now  for  a  fresh 
tankard,  which  he  emptied  at  a  gulp  ;  now  for  his 
pistols,  which,  as  fast  as  my  lord's  servants  brought 
them  to  him  new  primed,  he  discharged  at  the  ceiling. 
The  loud  wind  rattled  doors  and  windows,  and  made 
the  flame  of  the  torches  stream  sideways.  The  music 
grew  madder  and  madder,  the  shots  more  frequent, 
the  drunken  voices  thicker  and  louder. 

The  master  of  the  feast  carried  his  wine  better  than 
did  his  guests,  or  had  drunk  less,  but  his  spirit  too 
was  quite  without  bounds.  A  color  burned  in  his 
cheeks,  a  wicked  light  in  his  eyes ;  he  laughed  to  him 
self.  In  the  gray  smoke  cloud  he  saw  me  not,  or  saw 
me  only  as  one  of  the  many  who  thronged  the  door 
way  and  stared  at  the  revel  within.  He  raised  his 
silver  cup  with  a  slow  and  wavering  hand.  "  Drink, 
you  dogs !  "  he  chanted.  "  Drink  to  the  Santa  Te 
resa  !  Drink  to  to-morrow  night !  Drink  to  a  proud 
lady  within  my  arms  and  an  enemy  in  my  power !  " 

The  wine  that  had  made  him  mad  had  maddened 
those  others,  also.  In  that  hour  they  were  dead  to 
honor.  With  shameless  laughter  and  as  little  spilling 
as  might  be,  they  raised  their  tankards  as  my  lord 
raised  his.  A  stone  thrown  by  some  one  behind  me 
struck  the  cup  from  my  lord's  hand,  sending  it  clat 
tering  to  the  floor  and  dashing  him  with  the  red  wine. 
Master  Pory  roared  with  drunken  laughter.  "  Cup 
and  lip  missed  that  time !  "  he  cried. 

The  man  who  had  thrown  the  stone  was  Jeremy 
Sparrow.  For  one  instant  I  saw  his  great  figure,  and 


166  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

the  wrathful  face  beneath  his  shock  of  grizzled  hair ; 
the  next  he  had  made  his  way  through  the  crowd  of 
gaping  menials  and  was  gone. 

My  lord  stared  foolishly  at  the  stains  upon  his 
hands,  at  the  fallen  goblet  and  the  stone  beside  it. 
"  Cogged  dice,"  he  said  thickly,  "  or  I  had  not  lost 
that  throw !  I  '11  drink  that  toast  by  myself  to-mor 
row  night,  when  the  ship  does  n't  rock  like  this  d — d 
floor,  and  the  sea  has  no  stones  to  throw.  More  wine, 
Giles  !  To  my  Lord  High  Admiral,  gentlemen  !  To 
his  Grace  of  Buckingham !  May  he  shortly  howl  in 
hell,  and  looking  back  to  Whitehall  see  me  upon  the 
King's  bosom !  The  King  's  a  good  king,  gentlemen ! 
He  gave  me  this  ruby.  D'  ye  know  what  I  had  of 
him  last  year  ?  I  "  — 

I  turned  and  left  the  door  and  the  house.  I  could 
not  thrust  a  fight  upon  a  drunken  man. 

Ten  yards  away,  suddenly  and  without  any  warning 
of  his  approach,  I  found  beside  me  the  Indian  Nan- 
tauquas.  "  I  have  been  to  the  woods  to  hunt,"  he 
said,  in  the  slow  musical  English  Rolfe  had  taught 
him.  "  I  knew  where  a  panther  lodged,  and  to-day  I 
laid  a  snare,  and  took  him  in  it.  I  brought  him  to  my 
brother's  house,  and  caged  him  there.  When  I  have 
tamed  him,  I  shall  give  him  to  the  beautiful  lady." 

He  expected  no  answer,  and  I  gave  him  none. 
There  are  times  when  an  Indian  is  the  best  company 
in  the  world. 

Just  before  we  reached  the  market  place  we  had  to 
pass  the  mouth  of  a  narrow  lane  leading  down  to  the 
river.  The  night  was  very  dark,  though  the  stars  still 
shone  through  rifts  in  the  ever  moving  clouds.  The 
Indian  and  I  walked  rapidly  on,  —  my  footfalls  sound 
ing  clear  and  sharp  on  the  frosty  ground,  he  as  noise- 


IN  WHICH  WE  GO   OUT  INTO   THE  NIGHT    167 

less  as  a  shadow.  We  had  reached  the  further  side 
of  the  lane,  when  he  put  forth  an  arm  and  plucked 
from  the  blackness  a  small  black  figure. 

In  the  middle  of  the  square  was  kept  burning  a 
great  brazier  filled  with  pitched  wood.  It  was  the 
duty  of  the  watch  to  keep  it  flaming  from  darkness  to 
dawn.  We  found  it  freshly  heaped  with  pine,  and  its 
red  glare  lit  a  goodly  circle.  The  Indian,  pinioning 
the  wrists  of  his  captive  with  his  own  hand  of  steel, 
dragged  him  with  us  into  this  circle  of  light. 

"  Looking  for  simples  once  more,  learned  doctor  ?" 
I  demanded. 

He  mowed  and  jabbered,  twisting  this  way  and  that 
in  the  grasp  of  the  Indian. 

"  Loose  him,"  I  said  to  the  latter,  "  but  let  him  not 
come  too  near  you.  Why,  worthy  doctor,  in  so  wild 
and  threatening  a  night,  when  fire  is  burning  and  wine 
flowing  at  the  guest  house,  do  you  choose  to  crouch 
here  in  the  cold  and  darkness  ?  " 

He  looked  at  me  with  his  filmy  eyes,  and  that  faint 
smile  that  had  more  of  menace  in  it  than  a  panther's 
snarl.  "  I  laid  in  wait  for  you,  it  is  true,  noble  sir," 
he  said  in  his  thin,  dreamy  voice,  "  but  it  was  for  your 
good.  I  would  give  you  warning,  sir." 

He  stood  with  his  mean  figure  bent  cringingly  for 
ward,  and  with  his  hat  in  his  hand.  "  A  warning, 
sir,"  he  went  ramblingly  on.  "  Maybe  a  certain  one 
has  made  me  his  enemy.  Maybe  I  cut  myself  loose 
from  his  service.  Maybe  I  would  do  him  an  ill  turn. 
I  can  tell  you  a  secret,  sir."  He  lowered  his  voice 
and  looked  around,  as  if  in  fear  of  eavesdroppers. 
"  In  your  ear,  sir,"  he  said. 

I  recoiled.  "  Stand  back,"  I  cried,  "  or  you  will 
cull  no  more  simples  this  side  of  hell  I  " 


168  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

"  Hell !  "  he  answered.  "  There  's  no  such  place. 
I  will  not  tell  my  secret  aloud." 

"  Nicolo  the  Italian  !  Nicolo  the  Poisoner !  Ni- 
colo  the  Black  Death !  I  am  coming  for  the  soul  you 
sold  me.  There  is  a  hell !  " 

The  thundering  voice  came  from  underneath  our 
feet.  With  a  sound  that  was  not  a  groan  and  not  a 
screech,  the  Italian  reeled  back  against  the  heated  iron 
of  the  brazier.  Starting  from  that  fiery  contact  with 
an  unearthly  shriek,  he  threw  up  his  arms  and  dashed 
away  into  the  darkness.  The  sound  of  his  madly  hur 
rying  footsteps  came  back  to  us  until  the  guest  house 
had  swallowed  him  and  his  guilty  terrors. 

"  Can  the  preacher  play  the  devil  too  ?  "  I  asked, 
as  Sparrow  came  up  to  us  from  the  other  side  of  the 
fire.  "  I  could  have  sworn  that  that  voice  came  from 
the  bowels  of  the  earth.  'T  is  the  strangest  gift !  " 

"  A  mere  trick,"  he  said,  with  his  great  laugh,  "  but 
it  has  served  me  well  on  more  occasions  than  one.  It 
is  not  known  in  Virginia,  sir,  but  before  ever  the  word 
of  the  Lord  came  to  me  to  save  poor  silly  souls  I  was 
a  player.  Once  I  played  the  King's  ghost  in  Will 
Shakespeare's  '  Hamlet,'  and  then,  I  warrant  you,  I 
spoke  from  the  cellarage  indeed.  I  so  frighted  players 
and  playgoers  that  they  swore  it  was  witchcraft,  and 
Burbage's  knees  did  knock  together  in  dead  earnest. 
But  to  the  matter  in  hand.  When  I  had  thrown 
yonder  stone,  I  walked  quietly  down  to  the  Gov 
ernor's  house  and  looked  through  the  window.  The 
Governor  hath  the  Company's  letters,  and  he  and  the 
Council  —  all  save  the  reprobate  Pory  —  sit  there 
staring  at  them  and  drumming  with  their  fingers  on 
the  table." 

"  Is  Rolfe  of  the  Council?  "  I  asked. 


IN  WHICH    WE  GO   OUT  INTO   THE  NIGHT    169 

"  Ay ;  he  was  speaking,  —  for  you,  I  suppose, 
though  I  heard  not  the  words.  They  all  listened,  but 
they  all  shook  their  heads." 

"  We  shall  know  in  the  morning,"  I  said.  "  The 
night  grows  wilder,  and  honest  folks  should  be  abed. 
Nantauquas,  good-night.  When  will  you  have  tamed 
your  panther  ?  " 

"  It  is  now  the  moon  of  cohonks,"  answered  the 
Indian.  "  When  the  moon  of  blossoms  is  here,  the 
panther  shall  roll  at  the  beautiful  lady's  feet." 

"  The  moon  of  blossoms  !  "  I  said.  The  moon  of 
blossoms  is  a  long  way  off.  I  have  panthers  myself 
to  tame  before  it  comes.  This  wild  night  gives  one 
wild  thoughts,  Master  Sparrow.  The  loud  wind,  and 
the  sound  of  the  water,  and  the  hurrying  clouds  — 
who  knows  if  we  shall  ever  see  the  moon  of  blos 
soms  ?  "  I  broke  off  with  a  laugh  for  my  own  weak 
ness.  "  It 's  not  often  that  a  soldier  thinks  of  death," 
I  said.  "  Come  to  bed,  reverend  sir.  Nantauquas, 
again,  good-night,  and  may  you  tame  your  panther  !  " 

In  the  great  room  of  the  minister's  house  I  paced 
up  and  down ;  now  pausing  at  the  window,  to  look 
out  upon  the  fast  darkening  houses  of  the  town,  the 
ever  thickening  clouds,  and  the  bending  trees ;  now 
speaking  to  my  wife,  who  sat  in  the  chair  I  had  drawn 
for  her  before  the  fire,  her  hands  idle  in  her  lap,  her 
head  thrown  back  against  the  wood,  her  face  white 
and  still,  with  wide  dark  eyes.  We  waited  for  we 
knew  not  what,  but  the  light  still  burned  in  the  Gov 
ernor's  house,  and  we  could  not  sleep  and  leave  it 
there. 

It  grew  later  and  later.  The  wind  howled  down 
the  chimney,  and  I  heaped  more  wood  upon  the  fire. 
The  town  lay  in  darkness  now ;  only  in  the  distance 


170  TO   HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

burned  like  an  angry  star  the  light  in  the  Govern 
or's  house.  In  the  lull  between  the  blasts  of  wind  it 
was  so  very  still  that  the  sound  of  my  footfalls  upon 
the  floor,  the  dropping  of  the  charred  wood  upon  the 
hearth,  the  tapping  of  the  withered  vines  without  the 
window,  jarred  like  thunder. 

Suddenly  madam  leaned  forward  in  her  chair. 
"  There  is  some  one  at  the  door,"  she  said. 

As  she  spoke,  the  latch  rose  and  some  one  pushed 
heavily  against  the  door.  I  had  drawn  the  bars  across. 
"Who  is  it?"  I  demanded,  going  to  it. 

"  It  is  Diccon,  sir,"  replied  a  guarded  voice  outside. 
"  I  beg  of  you,  for  the  lady's  sake,  to  let  me  speak  to 
you." 

I  opened  the  door,  and  he  crossed  the  threshold. 
I  had  not  seen  him  since  the  night  he  would  have 
played  the  assassin.  I  had  heard  of  him  as  being  in 
Martin's  Hundred,  with  which  plantation  and  its  tur 
bulent  commander  the  debtor  and  the  outlaw  often 
found  sanctuary. 

"  What  is  it,  sirrah  ?  "  I  inquired  sternly. 

He  stood  with  his  eyes  upon  the  floor,  twirling  his 
cap  in  his  hands.  He  had  looked  once  at  madam 
when  he  entered,  but  not  at  me.  When  he  spoke  there 
was  the  old  bravado  in  his  voice,  and  he  threw  up  his 
head  with  the  old  reckless  gesture.  "  Though  I  am 
no  longer  your  man,  sir,"  he  said,  "  yet  I  hope  that 
one  Christian  may  warn  another.  The  marshal,  with 
a  dozen  men  at  his  heels,  will  be  here  anon." 

"  How  do  you  know  ?  " 

"  Why,  I  was  in  the  shadow  by  the  Governor's  win 
dow  when  the  parson  played  eavesdropper.  When  he 
was  gone  I  drew  myself  up  to  the  ledge,  and  with 
my  knife  made  a  hole  in  the  shutter  that  fitted  my 


IN  WHICH  WE  GO  OUT  INTO  THE  NIGHT    171 

ear  well  enough.  The  Governor  and  the  Council  sat 
there,  with  the  Company's  letters  spread  upon  the 
table.  I  heard  the  letters  read.  Sir  George  Yeard- 
ley's  petition  to  be  released  from  the  governorship  of 
Virginia  is  granted,  but  he  will  remain  in  office  until 
the  new  Governor,  Sir  Francis  Wyatt,  can  arrive  in 
Virginia.  The  Company  is  out  of  favor.  The  King 
hath  sent  Sir  Edwyn  Sandys  to  the  Tower.  My  Lord 
Warwick  waxeth  greater  every  day.  The  very  life  of 
the  Company  dependeth  upon  the  pleasure  of  the 
King,  and  it  may  not  defy  him.  You  are  to  be  taken 
into  custody  within  six  hours  of  the  reading  of  the 
letter,  to  be  kept  straitly  until  the  sailing  of  the  Santa 
Teresa,  and  to  be  sent  home  aboard  of  her  in  irons. 
The  lady  is  to  go  also,  with  all  honor,  and  with  women 
to  attend  her.  Upon  reaching  London,  you  are  to  be 
sent  to  the  Tower,  the  lady  to  Whitehall.  The  Court 
of  High  Commission  will  take  the  matter  under  con 
sideration  at  once.  My  Lord  of  Southampton  writes 
that,  because  of  the  urgent  entreaty  of  Sir  George 
Yeardley,  he  will  do  for  you  all  that  lieth  in  his 
power,  but  that  if  you  prove  not  yourself  conforma 
ble,  there  will  be  little  that  any  can  do." 

"  When  will  the  marshal  be  here  ?  "  I  demanded. 

"  Directly.  The  Governor  was  sending  for  him 
when  I  left  the  window.  Master  Rolfe  spoke  vehe 
mently  for  you,  and  would  have  left  the  Council  to 
come  to  you ;  but  the  Governor,  swearing  that  the 
Company  should  not  be  betrayed  by  its  officers,  con 
strained  him  to  remain.  I  'm  not  the  Company's 
officer,  so  I  may  tell  its  orders  if  I  please.  A  master- 
less  man  may  speak  without  fear  or  favor.  I  have 
told  you  all  I  know."  Before  I  could  speak  he  was 
gone,  closing  the  door  heavily  behind  him. 


172  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

I  turned  to  the  King's  ward.  She  had  risen  from 
the  chair,  and  now  stood  in  the  centre  of  the  room, 
one  han^  kat  her  bosom,  the  other  clenched  at  her  side, 
her  hea^l  thrown  up.  She  looked  as  she  had  looked 
at  Weyanoke,  that  first  night. 

"  Madam,"  I  said  under  my  breath. 

She  turned  her  face  upon  me.  "  Did  you  think," 
she  asked  in  a  low,  even  voice,  —  "  did  you  think  that 
I  would  ever  set  my  foot  upon  that  ship,  —  that  ship 
on  the  river  there  ?  One  ship  brought  me  here  upon 
a  shameful  errand ;  another  shall  not  take  me  upon 
one  more  shameful  still." 

She  took  her  hand  from  her  bosom ;  in  it  gleamed 
in  the  firelight  the  small  dagger  I  had  given  her  that 
night.  She  laid  it  on  the  table,  but  kept  her  hand 
upon  it.  "  You  will  choose  for  me,  sir,"  she  declared. 

I  went  to  the  door  and  looked  out.  "  It  is  a  wild 
night,"  I  said.  "  I  can  suit  it  with  as  wild  an  enter 
prise.  Make  a  bundle  of  your  warmest  clothing, 
madam,  and  wrap  your  mantle  about  you.  Will  you 
take  Angela?" 

"No,"  she  answered.  "I  will  not  have  her  peril 
too  upon  me." 

As  she  stood  there,  her  hand  no  longer  upon  the 
dagger,  the  large  tears  welled  into  her  eyes  and  fell 
slowly  over  her  white  cheeks.  "  It  is  for  mine  honor, 
sir,"  she  said.  "  I  know  that  I  ask  your  death." 

I  could  not  bear  to  see  her  weep,  and  so  I  spoke 
roughly.  "  I  have  told  you  before,"  I  said,  "  that 
your  honor  is  my  honor.  Do  you  think  I  would  sleep 
to-morrow  night,  in  the  hold  of  the  Santa  Teresa, 
knowing  that  my  wife  supped  with  my  Lord  Car 
nal?" 

I  crossed   the  room  to  take  my  pistols  from  the 


IN  WHICH  WE  GO  OUT  INTO  THE  NIGHT    173 

rack.  As  I  passed  her  she  caught  my  hand  in  hers, 
and  bending  pressed  her  lips  upon  it.  "  You  have 
been  very  good  to  me,"  she  murmured.  c^Do  not 
think  me  an  ingrate." 

Five  minutes  later  she  came  from  her  owji  room, 
hooded  and  mantled,  and  with  a  packet  of  clothing  in 
her  hand.  I  extinguished  the  torches,  then  opened 
the  door.  As  we  crossed  the  threshold,  we  paused  as 
by  one  impulse  and  looked  back  into  the  firelit  warmth 
of  the  room ;  then  I  closed  the  door  softly  behind  us, 
and  we  went  out  into  the  night. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

IN   WHICH   WE   HAVE   UNEXPECTED   COMPANY 

THE  wind,  which  had  heretofore  come  in  fierce 
blasts,  was  now  steadying  to  a  gale.  What  with  the 
flying  of  the  heaped  clouds,  the  slanting,  groaning 
pines,  and  the  rushing  of  the  river,  the  whole  earth 
seemed  a  fugitive,  fleeing  breathless  to  the  sea.  From 
across  the  neck  of  land  came  the  long-drawn  howl  of 
wolves,  and  in  the  wood  beyond  the  church  a  cata 
mount  screamed  and  screamed.  The  town  before  us 
lay  as  dark  and  as  still  as  the  grave ;  from  the  garden 
where  we  were  we  could  not  see  the  Governor's  house. 

"I  will  carry  madam's  bundle,"  said  a  voice  be 
hind  us. 

It  was  the  minister  who  had  spoken,  and  he  now 
stood  beside  us.  There  was  a  moment's  silence,  then 
I  said,  with  a  laugh :  "  We  are  not  going  upon  a 
summer  jaunt,  friend  Sparrow.  There  is  a  warm  fire 
in  the  great  room,  to  which  your  reverence  had  best 
betake  yourself  out  of  this  windy  night." 

As  he  made  no  movement  to  depart,  but  instead 
possessed  himself  of  Mistress  Percy's  bundle,  I  spoke 
again,  with  some  impatience :  "  We  are  no  longer  of 
your  fold,  reverend  sir,  but  are  bound  for  another 
parish.  We  give  you  hearty  thanks  for  your  hospi 
tality,  and  wish  you  a  very  good  night." 

As  I  spoke  I  would  have  taken  the  bundle  from 
him,  but  he  tucked  it  under  his  arm,  and,  passing  us, 


WE  HAVE  UNEXPECTED  COMPANY          175 

opened  the  garden  gate.  "  Did  I  forget  to  tell  you," 
he  said,  "that  worthy  Master  Bucke  is  well  of  the 
fever,  and  returns  to  his  own  to-morrow  ?  His  house 
and  church  are  no  longer  mine.  I  have  no  charge 
anywhere.  I  am  free  and  footloose.  May  I  not  go 
with  you,  madam?  There  may  be  dragons  to  slay, 
and  two  can  guard  a  distressed  princess  better  than 
one.  Will  you  take  me  for  your  squire,  Captain 
Percy?" 

He  held  out  his  great  hand,  and  after  a  moment  I 
put  my  own  in  it. 

We  left  the  garden  and  struck  into  a  lane.  "  The 
river,  then,  instead  of  the  forest?"  he  asked  in  a  low 
voice. 

"  Ay,"  I  answered.  "  Of  the  two  evils  it  seems  the 
lesser." 

"  How  about  a  boat  ?  " 

"  My  own  is  fastened  to  the  piles  of  the  old  de 
serted  wharf." 

"  You  have  with  you  neither  food  nor  water." 

"  Both  are  in  the  boat.  I  have  kept  her  victualed 
for  a  week  or  more." 

He  laughed  in  the  darkness,  and  I  heard  my  wife 
beside  me  utter  a  stifled  exclamation. 

The  lane  that  we  were  now  in  ran  parallel  to  the 
street  to  within  fifty  yards  of  the  guest  house,  when 
it  bent  sharply  down  to  the  river.  We  moved  silently 
and  with  caution,  for  some  night  bird  might  accost 
us  or  the  watch  come  upon  us.  In  the  guest  house 
all  was  darkness  save  one  room,  —  the  upper  room, 
—  from  which  came  a  very  pale  light.  When  we  had 
turned  with  the  lane  there  were  no  houses  to  pass ; 
only  gaunt  pines  and  copses  of  sumach.  I  took  my 
wife  by  the  hand  and  hurried  her  on.  A  hundred 


176  TO   HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

yards  before  us  ran  the  river,  dark  and  turbulent,  and 
between  us  and  it  rose  an  old,  unsafe,  and  abandoned 
landing.  Sparrow  laid  his  hand  upon  my  arm. 
"  Footsteps  behind  us,"  he  whispered. 

Without  slackening  pace  I  turned  my  head  and 
looked.  The  clouds,  high  around  the  horizon,  were 
thinning  overhead,  and  the  moon,  herself  invisible, 
yet  lightened  the  darkness  below.  The  sandy  lane 
stretched  behind  us  like  a  ribbon  of  twilight,  —  no 
thing  to  be  seen  but  it  and  the  ebony  mass  of  bush 
and  tree  lining  it  on  either  side.  We  hastened  on. 
A  minute  later  and  we  heard  behind  us  a  sound  like 
the  winding  of  a  small  horn,  clear,  shrill,  and  sweet. 
Sparrow  and  I  wheeled  —  and  saw  nothing.  The 
trees  ran  down  to  the  very  edge  of  the  wharf,  upon 
whose  rotten,  loosened,  and  noisy  boards  we  now  trod. 
Suddenly  the  clouds  above  us  broke,  and  the  moon 
shone  forth,  whitening  the  mountainous  clouds,  the 
ridged  and  angry  river,  and  the  low,  tree-fringed 
shore.  Below  us,  fastened  to  the  piles  and  rocking 
with  the  waves,  was  the  open  boat  in  which  we  were 
to  embark.  A  few  broken  steps  led  from  the  boards 
above  to  the  water  below.  Descending  these  I  sprang 
into  the  boat  and  held  out  my  arms  for  Mistress 
Percy.  Sparrow  gave  her  to  me,  and  I  lifted  her 
down  beside  me ;  then  turned  to  give  what  aid  I 
might  to  the  minister,  who  was  halfway  down  the 
steps  —  and  faced  my  Lord  Carnal. 

What  devil  had  led  him  forth  on  such  a  night; 
why  he,  whom  with  my  own  eyes,  three  hours  agone, 
I  had  seen  drunken,  should  have  chosen,  after  his 
carouse,  cold  air  and  his  own  company  rather  than 
sleep  ;  when  and  where  he  first  spied  us,  how  long  he 
had  followed  us,  I  have  never  known.  Perhaps  he 


WE  HAVE  UNEXPECTED  COMPANY    177 

could  not  sleep  for  triumph,  had  heard  of  my  impend 
ing  arrest,  had  come  forth  to  add  to  the  bitterness  of 
my  cup  by  his  presence,  and  so  had  happened  upon 
us.  He  could  only  have  guessed  at  those  he  followed, 
until  he  reached  the  edge  of  the  wharf  and  looked 
down  upon  us  in  the  moonlight.  For  a  moment  he 
stood  without  moving ;  then  he  raised  his  hand  to  his 
lips,  and  the  shrill  call  that  had  before  startled  us 
rang  out  again.  At  the  far  end  of  the  lane  lights  ap 
peared.  Men  were  coming  down  the  lane  at  a  run ; 
whether  they  were  the  watch,  or  my  lord's  own  rogues, 
we  tarried  not  to  see.  There  was  not  time  to  loosen 
the  rope  from  the  piles,  so  I  drew  my  knife  to  cut  it. 
My  lord  saw  the  movement,  and  sprang  down  the 
steps,  at  the  same  time  shouting  to  the  men  behind  to 
hasten.  Sparrow,  grappling  with  him,  locked  him  in 
a  giant's  embrace,  lifted  him  bodily  from  the  steps, 
and  flung  him  into  the  boat.  His  head  struck  against 
a  thwart,  and  he  lay,  huddled  beneath  it,  quiet  enough. 
The  minister  sprang  after  him,  and  I  cut  the  rope. 
By  now  the  wharf  shook  with  running  feet,  and  the 
backward-streaming  flame  of  the  torches  reddened  its 
boards  and  the  black  water  beneath ;  but  each  instant 
the  water  widened  between  us  and  our  pursuers. 
Wind  and  current  swept  us  out,  and  at  that  wharf 
there  were  no  boats  to  follow  us. 

Those  whom  my  lord's  whistle  had  brought  were 
now  upon  the  very  edge  of  the  wharf.  The  marshal's 
voice  called  upon  us  in  the  name  of  the  King  to  re 
turn.  Finding  that  we  vouchsafed  no  answer,  he 
pulled  out  a  pistol  and  fired,  the  ball  going  through 
my  hat ;  then  whipped  out  its  fellow  and  fired  again. 
Mistress  Percy,  whose  behavior  had  been  that  of  an 
angel,  stirred  in  her  seat.  I  did  not  know  until  the 


178  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

day  broke  that  the  ball  had  grazed  her  arm,  drench 
ing  her  sleeve  with  blood. 

"It  is  time  we  were  away,"  I  said,  with  a  laugh. 
"  If  your  reverence  will  keep  your  hand  upon  the 
tiller  and  your  eye  upon  the  gentleman  whom  you 
have  made  our  traveling  companion,  I  '11  put  up  the 
sail." 

I  was  on  my  way  to  the  foremast,  when  the  boom 
lying  prone  before  me  rose.  Slowly  and  majestically 
the  sail  ascended,  tapering  upward,  silvered  by  the 
moon,  —  the  great  white  pinion  which  should  bear  us 
we  knew  not  whither.  I  stopped  short  in  my  tracks, 
Mistress  Percy  drew  a  sobbing  breath,  and  the  minis 
ter  gasped  with  admiration.  We  all  three  stared  as 
though  the  white  cloth  had  veritably  been  a  monster 
wing  endowed  with  life. 

,"  Sails  don't  rise  of  themselves  !  "  I  exclaimed,  and 
was  at  the  mast  before  the  words  were  out  of  my  lips. 
Crouched  behind  it  was  a  man.  I  should  have  known 
him  even  without  the  aid  of  the  moon.  Often  enough, 
God  knows,  I  had  seen  him  crouched  like  this  beside 
me,  ourselves  in  ambush  awaiting  some  unwary  foe, 
brute  or  human  ;  or  ourselves  in  hiding,  holding  our 
breath  lest  it  should  betray  us.  The  minister  who 
had  been  a  player,  the  rival  who  would  have  poisoned 
me,  the  servant  who  would  have  stabbed  me,  the  wife 
who  was  wife  in  name  only,  —  mine  were  strange 
shipmates. 

He  rose  to  his  feet  and  stood  there  against  the  mast, 
in  the  old  half-submissive,  half-defiant  attitude,  with 
his  head  thrown  back  in  the  old  way. 

"  If  you  order  me,  sir,  I  will  swim  ashore,"  he  said, 
half  sullenly,  half  —  I  know  not  how. 

"  You   would  never  reach  the    shore,"  I  replied. 


WE  HAVE  UNEXPECTED   COMPANY          179 

"  And  you  know  that  I  will  never  order  you  again. 
Stay  here  if  you  please,  or  come  aft  if  you  please." 

I  went  back  and  took  the  tiller  from  Sparrow.  We 
were  now  in  mid-river,  and  the  swollen  stream  and 
the  strong  wind  bore  us  on  with  them  like  a  leaf 
before  the  gale.  We  left  behind  the  lights  and  the 
clamor,  the  dark  town  and  the  silent  fort,  the  weary 
Due  Return  and  the  shipping  about  the  lower  wharf. 
Before  us  loomed  the  Santa  Teresa ;  we  passed  so 
close  beneath  her  huge  black  sides  that  we  heard  the 
wind  whistling  through  her  rigging.  When  she,  too, 
was  gone,  the  river  lay  bare  before  us ;  silver  when 
the  moon  shone,  of  an  inky  blackness  when  it  was 
obscured  by  one  of  the  many  flying  clouds. 

My  wife  wrapped  her  mantle  closer  about  her,  and, 
leaning  back  in  her  seat  in  the  stern  beside  me,  raised 
her  face  to  the  wild  and  solemn  heavens.  Diccon 
sat  apart  in  the  bow  and  held  his  tongue.  The  min 
ister  bent  over,  and,  lifting  the  man  that  lay  in  the 
bottom  of  the  boat,  laid  him  at  full  length  upon  the 
thwart  before  us.  The  moonlight  streamed  down 
upon  the  prostrate  figure.  I  think  it  could  never 
have  shone  upon  a  more  handsome  or  a  more  wicked 
man.  He  lay  there  in  his  splendid  dress  and  dark 
beauty,  Endymion-like,  beneath  the  moon.  The 
King's  ward  turned  her  eyes  upon  him,  kept  them 
there  a  moment,  then  glanced  away,  and  looked  at 
him  no  more. 

"  There 's  a  parlous  lump  upon  his  forehead  where 
it  struck  the  thwart,"  said  the  minister,  "  but  the  life  's 
yet  in  him.  He  '11  shame  honest  men  for  many  a  day 
to  come.  Your  Platonists,  who  from  a  goodly  out 
side  argue  as  fair  a  soul,  could  never  have  been  ac 
quainted  with  this  gentleman." 


180  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

The  subject  of  his  discourse  moaned  and  stirred. 
The  minister  raised  one  of  the  hanging  hands  and  felt 
for  the  pulse.  "  Faint  enough,"  he  went  on.  "  A 
little  more  and  the  King  might  have  waited  for  his 
minion  forever  and  a  day.  It  would  have  been  the 
better  for  us,  who  have  now,  indeed,  a  strange  fish 
upon  our  hands,  but  I  am  glad  I  killed  him  not." 

I  tossed  him  a  flask.  "  It 's  good  aqua  vita3,  and 
the  flask  is  honest.  Give  him  to  drink  of  it." 

He  forced  the  liquor  between  my  lord's  teeth,  then 
dashed  water  in  his  face.  Another  minute  and  the 
King's  favorite  sat  up  and  looked  around  him.  Dazed 
as  yet,  he  stared,  with  no  comprehension  in  his  eyes, 
at  the  clouds,  the  sail,  the  rushing  water,  the  dark 
figures  about  him.  "  Nicolo !  "  he  cried  sharply. 

44  He  's  not  here,  my  lord,"  I  said. 

At  the  sound  of  my  voice  he  sprang  to  his  feet. 

44 1  should  advise  your  lordship  to  sit  still,"  I  said. 
<4  The  wind  is  very  boisterous,  and  we  are  not  under 
bare  poles.  If  you  exert  yourself,  you  may  capsize 
the  boat." 

He  sat  down  mechanically,  and  put  his  hand  to 
his  forehead.  I  watched  him  curiously.  It  was  the 
strangest  trick  that  fortune  had  played  him. 

His  hand  dropped  at  last,  and  he  straightened  him 
self,  with  a  long  breath.  44  Who  threw  me  into  the 
boat  ?  "  he  demanded. 

44  The  honor  was  mire,"  declared  the  minister. 

The  King's  minion  lacked  not  the  courage  of  the 
body,  nor,  when  passionate  action  had  brought  him 
naught,  a  certain  reserve  force  of  philosophy.  He 
now  did  the  best  thing  he  could  have  done,  —  burst 
into  a  roar  of  laughter.  44  Zooks  !  "  he  cried.  "  It 's 
as  good  a  comedy  as  ever  I  saw  !  How 's  the  play  to 


WE  HAVE  UNEXPECTED  COMPANY          181 

end,  captain  ?  Are  we  to  go  off  laughing,  or  is  the 
end  to  be  bloody  after  all  ?  For  instance,  is  there 
murder  to  be  done  ?  "  He  looked  at  me  boldly,  one 
hand  on  his  hip,  the  other  twirling  his  mustaches. 

"  We  are  not  all  murderers,  my  lord,"  I  told  him. 
"For  the  present  you  are  in  no  danger  other  than 
that  which  is  common  to  us  all." 

He  looked  at  the  clouds  piling  behind  us,  thicker 
and  thicker,  higher  and  higher,  at  the  bending  mast, 
at  the  black  water  swirling  now  and  again  over  the 
gunwales.  "  It 's  enough,"  he  muttered. 

I  beckoned  to  Diccon,  and  putting  the  tiller  into  his 
hands  went  forward  to  reef  the  sail.  When  it  was 
done  and  I  was  back  in  my  place,  my  lord  spoke  again. 

"  Where  are  we  going,  captain  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know." 

"  If  you  leave  that  sail  up  much  longer,  you  will 
land  us  at  the  bottom  of  the  river." 

"  There  are  worse  places,"  I  replied. 

He  left  his  seat,  and  moved,  though  with  caution, 
to  one  nearer  Mistress  Percy.  "  Are  cold  and  storm 
and  peril  sweeter  to  you,  lady,  than  warmth  and  safety, 
and  a  love  that  would  guard  you  from,  not  run  you  into, 
danger?"  he  said  in  a  whisper.  "  Do  you  not  wish 
this  boat  the  Santa  Teresa,  these  rude  boards  the  vel 
vet  cushions  of  her  state  cabin,  this  darkness  her  many 
lights,  this  cold  her  warmth,  with  the  night  shut  out 
and  love  shut  in  ?  " 

His  audacity,  if  it  angered  me,  yet  made  me  laugh. 
Not  so  with  the  King's  ward.  She  shrank  from  him 
until  she  pressed  against  the  tiller.  Our  flight,  the 
pursuing  feet,  the  struggle  at  the  wharf,  her  wounded 
arm  of  which  she  had  not  told,  the  terror  of  the  white 
sail  rising  as  if  by  magic,  the  vision  of  the  man  she 


182  TO  HAVE  AND  TO   HOLD 

hated  lying  as  one  dead  before  her  in  the  moonlight, 
the  cold,  the  hurry  of  the  night,  —  small  wonder  if 
her  spirit  failed  her  for  a  time.  I  felt  her  hand  touch 
mine  where  it  rested  upon  the  tiller.  "  Captain  Percy," 
she  murmured,  with  a  little  sobbing  breath. 

I  leaned  across  the  tiller  and  addressed  the  favorite. 
"  My  lord,"  I  said,  "  courtesy  to  prisoners  is  one  thing, 
and  freedom  from  restraint  and  license  of  tongue  is 
another.  Here  at  the  stern  the  boat  is  somewhat 
heavily  freighted.  Your  lordship  will  oblige  me  if 
you  will  go  forward  where  there  is  room  enough  and 
to  spare." 

His  black  brows  drew  together.  "  And  what  if  I 
refuse,  sir  ?  "  he  demanded  haughtily. 

"  I  have  rope  here,"  I  answered,  "  and  to  aid  me  the 
gentleman  who  once  before  to-night,  and  in  despite  of 
your  struggles,  lifted  you  in  his  arms  like  an  infant. 
We  will  tie  you  hand  and  foot,  and  lay  you  in  the 
bottom  of  the  boat.  If  you  make  too  much  trouble, 
there  is  always  the  river.  My  lord,  you  are  not  now 
at  Whitehall.  You  are  with  desperate  men,  outlaws 
who  have  no  king,  and  so  fear  no  king's  minions. 
Will  you  go  free,  or  will  you  go  bound?  Go  you 
shall,  one  way  or  the  other." 

He  looked  at  me  with  rage  and  hatred  in  his  face. 
Then,  with  a  laugh  that  was  not  good  to  hear  and 
a  shrug  of  the  shoulders,  he  went  forward  to  bear 
Diccon  company  in  the  bow. 


CHAPTER   XX 

IN   WHICH   WE   ARE   IN   DESPERATE   CASE 

"  GOD  walketh  upon  the  sea  as  he  walketh  upon  the 
land,"  said  the  minister.  "  The  sea  is  his  and  we  are 
his.  He  will  do  what  it  liketh  him  with  his  own." 
As  he  spoke  he  looked  with  a  steadfast  soul  into  the 
black  hollow  of  the  wave  that  combed  above  us, 
threatening  destruction. 

The  wave  broke,  and  the  boat  still  lived.  Borne 
high  upon  the  shoulder  of  the  next  rolling  hill,  we 
looked  .north,  south,  east,  and  west,  and  saw  only 
a  waste  of  livid,  ever  forming,  ever  breaking  waves,  a 
gray  sky  streaked  with  darker  gray  shifting  vapor, 
and  a  horizon  impenetrably  veiled.  Where  we  were 
in  the  great  bay,  in  what  direction  we  were  being 
driven,  how  near  we  might  be  to  the  open  sea  or  to 
some  fatal  shore,  we  knew  not.  What  we  did  know 
was  that  both  masts  were  gone,  that  we  must  bail  the 
boat  without  ceasing  if  we  would  keep  it  from  swamp 
ing,  that  the  wind  was  doing  an  apparently  impossible 
thing  and  rising  higher  and  higher,  and  that  the  waves 
which  buffeted  us  from  one  to  the  other  were  hourly 
swelling  to  a  more  monstrous  bulk. 

We  had  come  into  the  wider  waters  at  dawn,  and 
still  under  canvas.  An  hour  later,  off  Point  Comfort, 
a  bare  mast  contented  us  ;  we  had  hardly  gotten  the 
sail  in  when  mast  and  all  went  overboard.  That  had 
been  hours  ago. 


184  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

A  common  peril  is  a  mighty  leveler  of  barriers. 
Scant  time  was  there  in  that  boat  to  make  distinction 
between  friend  and  foe.  As  one  man  we  fought  the 
element  which  would  devour  us.  Each  took  his  turn 
at  the  bailing,  each  watched  for  the  next  great  wave 
before  which  we  must  cower,  clinging  with  numbed 
hands  to  gunwale  and  thwart.  We  fared  alike,  toiled 
alike,  and  suffered  alike,  only  that  the  minister  and 
I  cared  for  Mistress  Percy,  asking  no  help  from  the 
others. 

The  King's  ward  endured  all  without  a  murmur. 
She  was  cold,  she  was  worn  with  watching  and  terror, 
she  was  wounded ;  each  moment  Death  raised  his  arm 
to  strike,  but  she  sat  there  dauntless,  and  looked  him 
in  the  face  with  a  smile  upon  her  own.  If,  wearied 
out,  we  had  given  up  the  fight,  her  look  would  have 
spurred  us  on  to  wrestle  with  our  fate  to  the  last  gasp. 
She  sat  between  Sparrow  and  me,  and  as  best  we 
might  we  shielded  her  from  the  drenching  seas  and 
the  icy  wind.  Morning  had  shown  me  the  blood  upon 
her  sleeve,  and  I  had  cut  away  the  cloth  from  the 
white  arm,  and  had  washed  the  wound  with  wine  and 
bound  it  up.  If,  for  my  fee,  I  should  have  liked  to 
press  my  lips  upon  the  blue-veined  marble,  still  I  did 
it  not. 

When,  a  week  before,  I  had  stored  the  boat  with 
food  and  drink  and  had  brought  it  to  that  lonely 
wharf,  I  had  thought  that  if  at  the  last  my  wife  willed 
to  flee  I  would  attempt  to  reach  the  bay,  and  passing 
out  between  the  capes  would  go  to  the  north.  Given 
an  open  boat  and  the  tempestuous  seas  of  November, 
there  might  be  one  chance  out  of  a  hundred  of  our 
reaching  Manhattan  and  the  Dutch,  who  might  or 
might  not  give  us  refuge.  She  had  willed  to  flee,  and 


MAST  AND  ALL  WENT  OVERBOARD 


IN  WHICH  WE   ARE  IN   DESPERATE  CASE    185 

we  were  upon  our  journey,  and  the  one  chance  had 
vanished.  That  wan,  monotonous,  cold,  and  clinging 
mist  had  shrouded  us  for  our  burial,  and  our  grave 
yawned  beneath  us. 

The  day  passed  and  the  night  came,  and  still  we 
fought  the  sea,  and  still  the  wind  drove  us  whither 
it  would.  The  night  passed  and  the  second  morning 
came,  and  found  us  yet  alive.  My  wife  lay  now  at 
my  feet,  her  head  pillowed  upon  the  bundle  she  had 
brought  from  the  minister's  house.  Too  weak  for 
speech,  waiting  in  pain  and  cold  and  terror  for  death 
to  bring  her  warmth  and  life,  the  knightly  spirit  yet 
lived  in  her  eyes,  and  she  smiled  when  I  bent  over 
her  with  wine  to  moisten  her  lips.  At  length  she 
began  to  wander  in  her  mind,  and  to  speak  of  sum 
mer  days  and  flowers.  A  hand  held  my  heart  in  a 
slowly  tightening  grip  of  iron,  and  the  tears  ran  do\vn 
the  minister's  cheeks.  The  man  who  had  darkened 
her  young  life,  bringing  her  to  this,  looked  at  her  with 
an  ashen  face. 

As  the  day  wore  on,  the  gray  of  the  sky  paled  to  a 
dead  man's  hue  and  the  wind  lessened,  but  the  waves 
were  still  mountain  high.  One  moment  we  poised, 
like  the  gulls  that  now  screamed  about  us,  upon  some 
giddy  summit,  the  sky  alone  above  and  around  us ; 
the  next  we  sank  into  dark  green  and  glassy  caverns. 
Suddenly  the  wind  fell  away,  veered,  and  rose  again 
like  a  giant  refreshed. 

Diccon  started,  put  his  hand  to  his  ear,  then  sprang 
to  his  feet.  "  Breakers  !  "  he  cried  hoarsely. 

We  listened  with  straining  ears.  He  was  right. 
The  low,  ominous  murmur  changed  to  a  distant  roar, 
grew  louder  yet,  and  yet  louder,  and  was  no  longer 
distant. 


186  TO   HAVE  AND  TO   HOLD 

"  It  will  be  the  sand  islets  off  Cape  Charles,  sir," 
he  said.  I  nodded.  He  and  I  knew  there  was  no 
need  of  words. 

The  sky  grew  paler  and  paler,  and  soon  upon  the 
woof  of  the  clouds  a  splash  of  dull  yellow  showed 
where  the  sun  would  be.  The  fog  rose,  laying  bare 
the  desolate  ocean.  Before  us  were  two  very  small 
islands,  mere  handfuls  of  sand,  lying  side  by  side,  and 
encompassed  half  by  the  open  sea,  half  by  stiller 
waters  diked  in  by  marshes  and  sand  bars.  A  coarse, 
scanty  grass  and  a  few  stunted  trees  with  branches 
bending  away  from  the  sea  lived  upon  them,  but 
nothing  else.  Over  them  and  over  the  marshes  and 
the  sand  banks  circled  myriads  of  great  white  gulls. 
Their  harsh,  unearthly  voices  came  to  us  faintly,  and 
increased  the  desolation  of  earth  and  sky  and  sea. 

To  the  shell-strewn  beach  of  the  outer  of  the  two 
islets  raced  long  lines  of  surf,  and  between  us  and  it 
lurked  a  sand  bar,  against  which  the  great  rollers 
dashed  with  a  bull-like  roar.  The  wind  drove  us 
straight  upon  this  bar.  A  moment  of  deadly  peril 
and  it  had  us  fast,  holding  us  for  the  waves  to  beat 
our  life  out.  The  boat  listed,  then  rested,  quivering 
through  all  its  length.  The  waves  pounded  against 
its  side,  each  watery  battering-ram  dissolving  in  foam 
and  spray  but  to  give  place  to  another,  and  yet  it  held 
together,  and  yet  we  lived.  How  long  it  would  hold 
we  could  not  tell ;  we  only  knew  it  could  not  be  for 
long.  The  inclination  of  the  boat  was  not  so  great 
but  that,  with  caution,  we  might  move  about.  There 
were  on  board  rope  and  an  axe.  With  the  latter  I 
cut  away  the  thwarts  and  the  decking  in  the  bow,  and 
Diccon  and  I  made  a  small  raft.  When  it  was  fin 
ished,  I  lifted  my  wife  in  my  arms  and  laid  her  upon 


IN  WHICH  WE   ARE  IN  DESPERATE  CASE    1ST 

it  and  lashed  her  to  it  with  the  rope.  She  smiled  like 
a  child,  then  closed  her  eyes.  "  I  have  gathered 
primroses  until  I  am  tired,"  she  said.  "  I  will  sleep 
here  a  little  in  the  sunshine,  and  when  I  awake  I  will 
make  you  a  cowslip  ball." 

Time  passed,  and  the  groaning,  trembling  timbers 
still  held  together.  The  wind  fell,  the  sky  became 
blue,  and  the  sun  shone.  Another  while,  and  the 
waves  were  less  mountainous  and  beat  less  furiously 
against  the  boat.  Hope  brightened  before  us.  To 
strong  swimmers  the  distance  to  the  islet  was  trifling ; 
if  the  boat  would  but  last  until  the  sea  subsided,  we 
might  gain  the  beach.  What  we  would  do  upon  that 
barren  spot,  where  was  neither  man  nor  brute,  food 
nor  water,  was  a  thing  that  we  had  not  the  time  to 
consider.  It  was  land  that  we  craved. 

Another  hour,  and  the  sea  still  fell.  Another,  and 
a  wave  struck  the  boat  with  force.  "  The  sea  is  com 
ing  in  !  "  cried  the  minister. 

"  Ay,"  I  answered.     "  She  will  go  to  pieces  now." 

The  minister  rose  to  his  feet.  "  I  am  no  mariner," 
he  said,  "  but  once  in  the  water  I  can  swim  you  like 
any  fish.  There  have  been  times  when  I  have  re 
proached  the  Lord  for  that  he  cased  a  poor  silly  hum 
ble  preacher  like  me  with  the  strength  and  seeming 
of  some  mighty  man  of  old,  and  there  have  been 
times  when  I  have  thanked  him  for  that  strength.  I 
thank  him  now.  Captain  Percy,  if  you  will  trust  the 
lady  to  me,  I  will  take  her  safely  to  that  shore." 

I  raised  my  head  from  the  figure  over  which  I  was 
bending,  and  looked  first  at  the  still  tumultuous  sea, 
and  then  at  the  gigantic  frame  of  the  minister.  When 
we  had  made  that  frail  raft  no  swimmer  could  have 
lived  in  that  shock  of  waves ;  now  there  was  a  chance 


188  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

for  all,  and  for  the  minister,  with  his  great  strength, 
the  greatest  I  have  ever  seen  in  any  man,  a  double 
chance.  I  took  her  from  the  raft  and  gave  her  into 
his  arms.  A  minute  later  the  boat  went  to  pieces. 

Side  by  side  Sparrow  and  I  buffeted  the  sea.  He 
held  the  King's  ward  in  one  arm,  and  he  bore  her 
safely  over  the  huge  swells  and  through  the  onslaught 
of  the  breaking  waves.  I  could  thank  God  for  his 
strength,  and  trust  her  to  it.  For  the  other  three  of 
us,  we  were  all  strong  swimmers,  and  though  bruised 
and  beat  about,  we  held  our  own.  Each  wave,  over 
come,  left  us  nearer  the  islet,  —  a  little  while  and  our 
feet  touched  bottom.  A  short  struggle  with  the  tre 
mendous  surf  and  we  were  out  of  the  maw  of  the  sea, 
but  out  upon  a  desolate  islet,  a  mere  hand's-breadth 
of  sand  and  shell  in  a  lonely  ocean,  some  three  leagues 
from  the  mainland  of  Accomac,  and  upon  it  neither 
food  nor  water.  We  had  the  clothes  upon  our  backs, 
and  my  lord  and  I  had  kept  our  swords.  I  had  a 
knife,  and  Diccon  too  was  probably  armed.  The  flint 
and  steel  and  tinder  box  within  my  pouch  made  up 
our  store. 

The  minister  laid  the  woman  whom  he  carried  upon 
the  pebbles,  fell  upon  his  knees,  and  lifted  his  rugged 
face  to  heaven.  I  too  knelt,  and  with  my  hand  upon 
her  heart  said  my  own  prayer  in  my  own  way.  My 
lord  stood  with  unbent  head,  his  eyes  upon  that  still 
white  face,  but  Diccon  turned  abruptly  and  strode  off 
to  a  low  ridge  of  sand,  from  the  top  of  which  one 
might  survey  the  entire  island. 

In  two  minutes  he  was  back  again.  "  There 's 
plenty  of  driftwood  further  up  the  beach,"  he  an 
nounced,  "  and  a  mort  of  dried  seaweed.  At  least  we 
need  n't  freeze." 


IN  WHICH   WE  ARE  IN  DESPERATE  CASE    189 

The  great  bonfire  that  we  made  roared  and  crackled, 
sending  out  a  most  cheerful  heat  and  light.  Under 
that  genial  breath  the  color  came  slowly  back  to 
madam's  cheek  and  lip,  and  her  heart  beat  more 
strongly.  Presently  she  turned  under  my  hand,  and 
with  a  sigh  pillowed  her  head  upon  her  arm  and  went 
to  sleep  in  that  blessed  warmth  like  a  little  child. 

We  who  had  no  mind  for  sleep  sat  there  beside  the 
fire  and  watched  the  sun  sink  behind  the  low  black 
line  of  the  mainland,  now  plainly  visible  in  the  cleared 
air.  It  dyed  the  waves  blood  red,  and  shot  out  one 
long  ray  to  crimson  a  single  floating  cloud,  no  larger 
than  a  man's  hand,  high  in  the  blue.  Sea  birds,  a 
countless  multitude,  went  to  and  fro  with  harsh  cries 
from  island  to  marsh,  and  marsh  to  island.  The 
marshes  were  still  green;  they  lay,  a  half  moon  of 
fantastic  shapes,  each  parted  from  the  other  by  pink 
water.  Beyond  them  was  the  inlet  dividing  us  from 
the  mainland,  and  that  inlet  was  three  leagues  in 
width.  We  turned  and  looked  seaward.  Naught  but 
leaping  waves  white-capped  to  the  horizon. 

"  We  touched  here  the  time  we  went  against  the 
French  at  Port  Royal  and  St.  Croix,"  I  said.  "  We 
had  heard  a  rumor  that  the  Bermuda  pirates  had 
hidden  gold  here.  Argall  and  I  went  over  every 
foot  of  it." 

"  And  found  no  water  ?  "  questioned  the  minister. 

"  And  found  no  water." 

The  light  died  from  the  west  and  from  the  sea 
beneath,  and  the  night  fell.  When  with  the  darkness 
the  sea  fowl  ceased  their  clamor,  a  dreadful  silence 
suddenly  enfolded  us.  The  rush  of  the  surf  made  no 
difference  ;  the  ear  heard  it,  but  to  the  mind  there 
was  no  sound.  The  sky  was  thick  with  stars  ;  every 


190  TO  HAVE    AND  TO  HOLD 

moment  one  shot,  and  the  trail  of  white  fire  it  left  be 
hind  melted  into  the  night  silently  like  sriowflakes. 
There  was  no  wind.  The  moon  rose  out  of  the  sea, 
and  lent  the  sandy  isle  her  own  pallor.  Here  and 
there,  back  amongst  the  dunes,  the  branches  of  a  low 
and  leafless  tree  writhed  upward  like  dark  fingers 
thrust  from  out  the  spectral  earth.  The  ocean,  quiet 
now,  dreamed  beneath  the  moon  and  cared  not  for 
the  five  lives  it  had  cast  upon  that  span  of  sand. 

We  piled  driftwood  and  tangles  of  seaweed  upon 
our  fire,  and  it  flamed  and  roared  and  broke  the 
silence.  Diccon,  going  to  the  landward  side  of  the 
islet,  found  some  oysters,  which  we  roasted  and  ate  ; 
but  we  had  nor  wine  nor  water  with  which  to  wash 
them  down. 

"  At  least  there  are  here  no  foes  to  fear,"  quoth  my 
lord.  "  We  may  all  sleep  to-night ;  and  zooks !  we 
shall  need  it ! "  He  spoke  frankly,  with  an  open 
face. 

"  I  will  take  one  watch,  if  you  will  take  the  other," 
I  said  to  the  minister. 

He  nodded.     "  I  will  watch  until  midnight." 

It  was  long  past  that  time  when  he  roused  me  from 
where  I  lay  at  Mistress  Percy's  feet. 

"  I  should  have  relieved  you  long  ago,"  I  told  him. 

He  smiled.  The  moon,  now  high  in  the  heavens, 
shone  upon  and  softened  his  rugged  features.  I 
thought  I  had  never  seen  a  face  so  filled  with  tender 
ness  and  hope  and  a  sort  of  patient  power.  "  I  have 
been  with  God,"  he  said  simply.  "  The  starry  skies 
and  the  great  ocean  and  the  little  shells  beneath 
my  hand,  *—  how  wonderful  are  thy  works,  O  Lord  ! 
What  is  man  that  thou  art  mindful  of  him  ?  And  yet 
not  a  sparrow  falleth  "-^ 


IN  WHICH  WE  ARE  IN  DESPERATE  CASE    191 

I  rose  and  sat  by  the  fire,  and  he  laid  himself  down 
upon  the  sand  beside  me. 

"Master  Sparrow,"  I  asked,  "have  you  ever  suf 
fered  thirst  ?" 

"  No,"  he  answered.  We  spoke  in  low  tones,  lest 
we  should  wake  her.  Diccon  and  my  lord,  upon  the 
other  side  of  the  fire,  were  sleeping  heavily. 

"  I  have,"  I  said.  "  Once  I  lay  upon  a  field  of 
battle  throughout  a  summer  day,  sore  wounded  and 
with  my  dead  horse  across  my  body.  I  shall  forget 
the  horror  of  that  lost  field  and  the  torment  of  that 
weight  before  I  forget  the  thirst." 

"  You  think  there  is  no  hope  ?  " 

"  What  hope  should  there  be  ?  " 

He  was  silent.  Presently  he  turned  and  looked  at 
the  King's  ward  where  she  lay  in  the  rosy  light ;  then 
his  eyes  came  back  to  mine. 

"  If  it  comes  to  the  worst  I  shall  put  her  out  of  her 
torment,"  I  said. 

He  bowed  his  head  and  we  sat  in  silence,  our  gaze 
upon  the  ground  between  us,  listening  to  the  low 
thunder  of  the  surf  and  the  crackling  of  the  fire.  "  I 
love  her,"  I  said  at  last.  "  God  help  me !  " 

He  put  his  finger  to  his  lips.  She  had  stirred  and 
opened  her  eyes.  I  knelt  beside  her,  and  asked  her 
how  she  did  and  if  she  wanted  aught. 

"  It  is  warm,"  she  said  wonderingly. 

"  You  are  no  longer  in  the  boat,"  I  told  her.  "  You 
are  safe  upon  the  land.  You  have  been  sleeping  here 
by  the  fire  that  we  kindled." 

An  exquisite  smile  just  lit  her  face,  and  her  eyelids 
drooped  again.  "  I  am  so  tired,"  she  said  drowsily, 
"  that  I  will  sleep  a  little  longer.  Will  you  bring  me 
some  water.  Captain  Percy  ?  I  am  very  thirsty." 


192  TO   HAVE  AND  TO   HOLD 

After  a  moment  I  said  gently,  "  I  will  go  get  it, 
madam."  She  made  no  answer;  she  was  already 
asleep.  Nor  did  Sparrow  and  I  speak  again.  He 
laid  himself  down  with  his  face  to  the  ocean,  and  I 
sat  with  my  head  in  my  hands,  and  thought  and 
thought,  to  no  purpose. 


CHAPTER  XXI 
IN  WHICH   A   GRAVE  IS   DIGGED 

WHEN  the  stars  had  gone  out  and  the  moon  begun 
to  pale,  I  raised  my  face  from  my  hands.  Only  a  few 
glowing  embers  remained  of  the  fire,  and  the  drift 
wood  that  we  had  collected  was  exhausted.  I  thought 
that  I  would  gather  more,  and  build  up  the  fire  against 
the  time  when  the  others  should  awake.  The  drift 
wood  lay  in  greatest  quantity  some  distance  up  the 
beach,  against  a  low  ridge  of  sand  dunes.  Beyond 
these  the  islet  tapered  off  to  a  long  gray  point  of  sand 
and  shell.  Walking  toward  this  point  in  the  first  pale 
light  of  dawn,  I  chanced  to  raise  my  eyes,  and  beheld 
riding  at  anchor  beyond  the  spit  of  sand  a  ship. 

I  stopped  short  and  rubbed  my  eyes.  She  lay 
there  on  the  sleeping  ocean  like  a  dream  ship,  her 
masts  and  rigging  black  against  the  pallid  sky,  the 
mist  that  rested  upon  the  sea  enfolding  half  her  hull. 
She  might  have  been  of  three  hundred  tons  burthen ; 
she  was  black  and  two-decked,  and  very  high  at  poop 
and  forecastle,  and  she  was  heavily  armed.  My  eyes 
traveled  from  the  ship  to  the  shore,  and  there  dragged 
up  on  the  point,  the  oars  within  it,  was  a  boat. 

At  the  head  of  the  beach,  beyond  the  line  of  shell 
and  weed,  the  sand  lay  piled  in  heaps.  With  these 
friendly  hillocks  between  me  and  the  sea,  I  crept  on 
as  silently  as  I  might,  until  I  reached  a  point  just 
above  the  boat.  Here  I  first  heard  voices.  I  went  a 


194  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

little  further,  then  knelt,  and,  parting  the  long  coarse 
grass  that  filled  the  hollow  between  two  hillocks, 
looked  out  upon  two  men  who  were  digging  a  grave. 

They  dug  in  a  furious  hurry,  throwing  the  sand  to 
left  and  right,  and  cursing  as  they  dug.  They  were 
powerful  men,  of  a  most  villainous  cast  of  counte 
nance,  and  dressed  very  oddly.  One  with  a  shirt  of 
coarsest  dowlas,  and  a  filthy  rag  tying  up  a  broken 
head,  yet  wore  velvet  breeches,  and  wiped  the  sweat 
from  his  face  with  a  wrought  handkerchief ;  the  other 
topped  a  suit  of  shreds  and  patches  with  a  fine  bushy 
ruff,  and  swung  from  one  ragged  shoulder  a  cloak  of 
grogram  lined  with  taffeta.  On  the  ground,  to  one 
side  of  them,  lay  something  long  and  wrapped  in 
white. 

As  they  dug  and  cursed,  the  light  strengthened. 
The  east  changed  from  gray  to  pale  rose,  from  rose  to 
a  splendid  crimson  shot  with  gold.  The  mist  lifted 
and  the  sea  burned  red.  Two  boats  were  lowered 
from  the  ship,  and  came  swiftly  toward  the  point. 

"  Here  they  are  at  last,"  growled  the  gravedigger 
with  the  broken  head  and  velvet  breeches. 

"  They  Ve  taken  their  time,"  snarled  his  companion, 
"and  us  two  here  on  this  d — d  island  with  a  dead 
man  the  whole  ghost's  hour.  Boarding  a  ship  's  no 
thing,  but  to  dig  a  grave  on  the  land  before  cockcrow, 
with  the  man  you  're  to  put  in  it  looking  at  you  ! 
Why  could  n't  he  be  buried  at  sea,  decent  and  re 
spectable,  like  other  folk  ?  " 

"  It  was  his  will,  —  that 's  all  I  know,"  said  the  first ; 
"  just  as  it  was  his  will,  when  he  found  he  was  a  dying 
man,  to  come  booming  away  from  the  gold  seas  up 
here  to  a  land  where  there  is  n't  no  gold,  and  never 
will  be.  Belike  he  thought  he  'd  find  waiting  for  him 


IN  WHICH  A  GRAVE  IS  DIGGED  195 

at  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  all  along  from  the  Lucayas 
to  Cartagena,  the  many  he  sent  there  afore  he  died. 
And  Captain  Paradise,  he  says,  says  he  :  '  It 's  ill 
crossing  a  dead  man.  We  '11  obey  him  this  once 
more ' "  — 

"  Captain  Paradise  !  "  cried  he  of  the  ruff.  "  Who 
made  him  captain  ?  —  curse  him  !  " 

His  fellow  straightened  himself  with  a  jerk.  "  Who 
made  him  captain  ?  The  ship  will  make  him  captain. 
Who  else  should  be  captain  ?  " 

"  Red  Gil ! " 

"Red  Gil!"  exclaimed  the  other.  "I'd  rather 
have  the  Spaniard  !  " 

"  The  Spaniard  would  do  well  enough,  if  the  rest 
of  us  were  n't  English.  If  hating  every  other  Span 
iard  would  do  it,  he  'd  be  English  fast  enough." 

The  scoundrel  with  the  broken  head  burst  into  a 
loud  laugh.  "  D'  ye  remember  the  bark  we  took  off 
Porto  Bello,  with  the  priests  aboard  ?  Oho  !  Oho  !  " 

The  rogue  with  the  ruff  grinned.  "  I  reckon  the 
padres  remember  it,  and  find  hell  easy  lying.  This 
hole 's  deep  enough,  I  'm  thinking." 

They  both  clambered  out,  and  one  squatted  at  the 
head  of  the  grave  and  mopped  his  face  with  his  deli 
cate  handkerchief,  while  the  other  swung  his  fine 
cloak  with  an  air  and  dug  his  bare  toes  in  the  sand. 

The  two  boats  now  grated  upon  the  beach,  and  sev 
eral  of  their  occupants,  springing  out,  dragged  them 
up  on  the  sand. 

"  We  '11  never  get  another  like  him  that 's  gone," 
said  the  worthy  at  the  head  of  the  grave,  gloomily 
regarding  the  something  wrapped  in  white. 

"  That 's  gospel  truth,"  assented  the  other,  with  a 
prodigious  sigh.  "  He  was  a  man  what  was  a  man. 


196  TO   HAVE  AND   TO   HOLD 

He  never  stuck  at  nothing.  Don  or  priest,  man  or 
woman,  good  red  gold  or  dirty  silver,  —  it  was  all 
one  to  him.  But  he  's  dead  and  gone  !  " 

"  Now,  if  we  had  a  captain  like  Kirby,"  suggested 
the  first. 

"  Kirby  keeps  to  the  Summer  Isles,"  said  the  sec 
ond.  "  'T  is  n't  often  now  that  he  swoops  down  as 
far  as  the  Indies." 

The  man  with  the  broken  head  laughed.  "  When 
he  does,  there  's  a  noise  in  that  part  of  the  world." 

"  And  that 's  gospel  truth,  too,"  swore  the  other, 
with  an  oath  of  admiration. 

By  this  the  score  or  more  who  had  come  in  the  two 
boats  were  halfway  up  the  beach.  In  front,  side  by 
side,  as  each  conceding  no  inch  of  leadership,  walked 
three  men  :  a  large  man,  with  a  villainous  face  much 
scarred,  and  a  huge,  bushy,  dark  red  beard ;  a  tall 
dark  man,  with  a  thin  fierce  face  and  bloodshot  eyes, 
the  Spaniard  by  his  looks ;  and  a  slight  man,  with 
the  face  and  bearing  of  an  English  gentleman.  The 
men  behind  them  differed  no  whit  from  the 'two  grave- 
diggers,  being  as  scoundrelly  of  face,  as  great  of 
strength,  and  as  curiously  attired.  They  came  straight 
to  the  open  grave,  and  the  dead  man  beside  it.  The 
three  who  seemed  of  most  importance  disposed  them 
selves,  still  side  by  side,  at  the  head  of  the  grave,  and 
their  following  took  the  foot. 

"  It 's  a  dirty  piece  of  work,"  said  Red  Gil  in  a 
voice  like  a  raven's,  "  and  the  sooner  it 's  done  with, 
and  we  are  aboard  again  and  booming  back  to  the 
Indies,  the  better  I  '11  like  it.  Over  with  him,  brave 
boys !  " 

"  Is  it  yours  to  give  the  word  ?  "  asked  the  slight 
man,  who  was  dressed  point-device,  and  with  a  finical 


IN  WHICH  A  GRAVE  IS  DIGGED  197 

nicety,  in  black  and  silver.  His  voice  was  low  and 
clear,  and  of  a  somewhat  melancholy  cadence,  going 
well  with  the  pensiveness  of  fine,  deeply  fringed  eyes. 

"  Why  should  n't  I  give  the  word  ?  "  growled  the 
personage  addressed,  adding  with  an  oath,  "  I  've  as 
good  a  right  to  give  it  as  any  man,  —  maybe  a  better 
right ! " 

"  That  would  be  scanned,"  said  he  of  the  pensive 
eyes.  "  Gentlemen,  we  have  here  the  pick  of  the 
ship.  For  the  captain  that  these  choose,  those  on 
board  will  throw  up  their  caps.  Let  us  bury  the 
dead,  and  then  let  choice  be  made  of  one  of  us  three, 
each  of  whom  has  claims  that  might  be  put  for 
ward  "  —  He  broke  off  and  picking  up  a  delicate 
shell  began  to  study  its  pearly  spirals  with  a  tender, 
thoughtful,  half -pleased,  half -melancholy  countenance. 

The  gravedigger  with  the  wrought  handkerchief 
looked  from  him  to  the  rascal  crew  massed  at  the  foot 
of  the  grave,  and,  seeing  his  own  sentiments  mirrored 
in  the  countenances  of  not  a  few,  snatched  the  bloody 
clout  from  his  head,  waved  it,  and  cried  out,  "  Para 
dise  ! "  Whereupon  arose  a  great  confusion.  Some 
bawled  for  Paradise,  some  for  Ked  Gil,  a  few  for  the 
Spaniard.  The  two  gravediggers  locked  horns,  and 
a  brawny  devil  with  a  woman's  mantle  swathed  about 
his  naked  shoulders  drew  a  knife,  and  made  for  a 
partisan  of  the  Spaniard,  who  in  his  turn  skillfully 
interposed  between  himself  and  the  attack  the  body 
of  a  bawling  well-wisher  to  Ked  Gil. 

The  man  in  black  and  silver  tossed  aside  the  shell, 
rose,  and  entered  the  lists.  With  one  hand  he  seized 
the  gravedigger  of  the  ruff,  and  hurled  him  apart 
from  him  of  the  velvet  breeches ;  with  the  other  he 
presented  a  dagger  with  a  jeweled  haft  at  the  breast 


198  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

of  the  ruffian  with  the  woman's  mantle,  while  in  tones 
that  would  have  befitted  Astrophel  plaining  of  his 
love  to  rocks,  woods,  and  streams,  he  poured  forth 
a  flood  of  wild,  singular,  and  filthy  oaths,  such  as 
would  have  disgraced  a  camp  follower.  His  interfer 
ence  was  effectual.  The  combatants  fell  apart  and  the 
clamor  was  stilled,  whereupon  the  gentleman  of  con 
trarieties  at  once  resumed  the  gentle  and  indifferent 
melancholy  of  manner  and  address. 

"  Let  us  off  with  the  old  love  before  we  are  on  with 
the  new,  gentlemen,"  he  said.  "  We  '11  bury  the  dead 
first,  and  choose  his  successor  afterward,  —  decently 
and  in  order,  I  trust,  and  with  due  submission  to  the 
majority." 

"  I  '11  fight  for  my  rights,"  growled  Red  Gil. 

"  And  I  for  mine,"  cried  the  Spaniard. 

"  And  each  of  us  '11  back  his  own  man,"  muttered 
in  an  aside  the  gravedigger  with  the  broken  head. 

The  one  they  called  Paradise  sighed.  "It  is  a 
thousand  pities  that  there  is  not  amongst  us  some  one 
of  merit  so  preeminent  that  faction  should  hide  its 
head  before  it.  But  to  the  work  in  hand,  gentlemen." 

They  gathered  closer  around  the  yawning  grave, 
and  some  began  to  lift  the  corpse.  As  for  me,  I 
withdrew  as  noiselessly  as  an  Indian  from  my  lair  of 
grass,  and,  hidden  by  the  heaped-up  sand,  made  off 
across  the  point  and  down  the  beach  to  where  a  light 
curl  of  smoke  showed  that  some  one  was  mending  the 
fire  I  had  neglected.  It  was  Sparrow,  who  alternately 
threw  on  driftwood  and  seaweed  and  spoke  to  madam, 
who  sat  at  his  feet  in  the  blended  warmth  of  fire  and 
sunshine.  Diccon  was  roasting  the  remainder  of  the 
oysters  he  had  gathered  the  night  before,  and  my  lord 
stood  and  stared  with  a  frowning  face  at  the  nine-mile- 


IN  WHICH  A  GRAVE   IS  DIGGED  199 

distant  mainland.  All  turned  their  eyes  upon  me  as 
I  came  up  to  the  fire. 

"A  little  longer,  Captain  Percy,  and  we  would 
have  had  out  a  search  warrant,"  began  the  minister 
cheerfully.  "  Have  you  been  building  a  bridge  ?  " 

"  If  I  build  one,"  I  said,  "  it  will  be  a  perilous  one 
enough.  Have  you  looked  seaward  ?  " 

"  We  waked  but  a  minute  agone,"  he  answered. 
As  he  spoke,  he  straightened  his  great  form  and  lifted 
his  face  from  the  fire  to  the  blue  sea.  Diccon,  still 
on  his  knees  at  his  task,  looked  too ;  and  my  lord, 
turning  from  his  contemplation  of  the  distant  king 
dom  of  Accomac ;  and  Mistress  Percy,  one  hand  shad 
ing  her  eyes,  the  slender  fingers  of  the  other  still 
immeshed  in  her  long  dark  hair  which  she  had  been 
braiding.  They  stared  at  the  ship  in  silence  until 
my  lord  laughed. 

"  Conjure  us  on  board  at  once,  captain,"  he  cried. 
"  We  are  thirsty." 

I  drew  the  minister  aside.  "I  am  going  up  the 
beach,  beyond  that  point,  again ;  you  will  one  and 
all  stay  here.  If  I  do  not  come  back,  do  the  best  you 
can,  and  sell  her  life  as  dearly  as  you  can.  If  I  come 
back,  —  you  are  quick  of  wit  and  have  been  a  player  ; 
look  that  you  take  the  cue  I  give  you !  " 

I  returned  to  the  fire,  and  he  followed  me,  amaze 
ment  in  his  face.  "My  Lord  Carnal,"  I  said,  "I 
must  ask  you  for  your  sword." 

He  started,  and  his  black  brows  drew  together. 
"  Though  the  fortunes  of  war  have  made  me  in  some 
sort  your  captive,  sir,"  he  said  at  last,  and  not  with 
out  dignity,  "I  do  not  see,  upon  this  isle  to  which 
we  are  all  prisoners,  the  need  of  so  strong  testimony 
to  the  abjectness  of  my  condition,  nor  deem  it  gener- 


200  TO   HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

"  We  will  speak  of  generosity  another  day,  my 
lord,"  I  interrupted.  "  At  present  I  am  in  a  hurry. 
That  you  are  my  prisoner  in  verity  is  enough  for  me, 
but  not  for  others.  I  must  have  you  so  in  seeming 
as  well  as  in  truth.  Moreover,  Master  Sparrow  is 
weaponless,  and  I  must  needs  disarm  an  enemy  to 
arm  a  friend.  I  beg  that  you  will  give  what  else  we 
must  take." 

He  looked  at  Diccon,  but  Diccon  stood  with  his 
face  to  the  sea.  I  thought  we  were  to  have  a  struggle, 
and  I  was  sorry  for  it,  but  my  lord  could  and  did 
add  discretion  to  a  valor  that  I  never  doubted.  He 
shrugged  his  shoulders,  burst  into  a  laugh,  and  turned 
to  Mistress  Percy. 

"  What  can  one  do,  lady,  when  one  is  doubly  a 
prisoner,  prisoner  to  numbers  and  to  beauty?  E'en 
laugh  at  fate,  and  make  the  best  of  a  bad  job.  Here, 
sir  !  Some  day  it  shall  be  the  point !  " 

He  drew  his  rapier  from  its  sheath,  and  presented 
the  hilt  to  me.  I  took  it  with  a  bow,  and  handed  it 
to  Sparrow. 

The  King's  ward  had  risen,  and  now  leant  against 
the  bank  of  sand,  her  long  dark  hair,  half  braided, 
drawn  over  either  shoulder,  her  face  marble  white  be 
tween  the  waves  of  darkness. 

"  I  do  not  know  that  I  shall  ever  come  back,"  I 
said,  stopping  before  her.  "May  I  kiss  your  hand 
before  I  go  ?  " 

Her  lips  moved,  but  she  did  not  speak.  I  knelt 
and  kissed  her  clasped  hands.  They  were  cold  to  my 
lips.  "Where  are  you  going?"  she  whispered.  "Into 
what  danger  are  you  going  ?  I  —  I  —  take  me  with 
you!" 

I  rose,  with  a  laugh  at  my  own  folly  that  could 


IN  WHICH  A  GRAVE  IS  DIGGED  201 

have  rested  brow  and  lips  on  those  hands,  and  let  the 
world  wag.  "  Another  time,"  I  said.  "  Kest  in  the 
sunshine  now,  and  think  that  all  i§  well.  All  will  be 
well,  I  trust." 

A  few  minutes  later  saw  me  almost  upon  the  party 
gathered  about  the  grave.  The  grave  had  received 
that  which  it  was  to  hold  until  the  crack  of  doom, 
and  was  now  being  rapidly  filled  with  sand.  The 
crew  of  deep-dyed  villains  worked  or  stood  or  sat  in 
silence,  but  all  looked  at  the  grave,  and  saw  me  not. 
As  the  last  handful  of  sand  made  it  level  with  the 
beach,  I  walked  into  their  midst,  and  found  myself 
face  to  face  with  the  three  candidates  for  the  now 
vacant  captaincy. 

"  Give  you  good-day,  gentlemen,"  I  cried.  "  Is  it 
your  captain  that  you  bury  or  one  of  your  crew,  or  is 
it  only  pezos  and  pieces  of  eight  ?  " 


CHAPTER   XXII 

IN   WHICH   I   CHANGE   MY  NAME   AND   OCCUPATION 

"  THE  sun  shining  on  so  much  bare  steel  hurts  my 
eyes,"  I  said.  "  Put  up,  gentlemen,  put  up !  Cannot 
one  rover  attend  the  funeral  of  another  without  all 
this  crowding  and  display  of  cutlery?  If  you  will 
take  the  trouble  to  look  around  you,  you  will  see  that 
I  have  brought  to  the  obsequies  only  myself." 

One  by  one  cutlass  and  sword  were  lowered,  and 
those  who  had  drawn  them,  falling  somewhat  back, 
spat  and  swore  and  laughed.  The  man  in  black  and 
silver  only  smiled  gently  and  sadly.  "  Did  you  drop 
from  the  blue  ?  "  he  asked.  "  Or  did  you  come  up 
from  the  sea  ?  " 

"  I  came  out  of  it,"  I  said.  "  My  ship  went  down 
in  the  storm  yesterday.  Your  little  cockboat  yonder 
was  more  fortunate."  I  waved  my  hand  toward  that 
ship  of  three  hundred  tons,  then  twirled  my  mustaches 
and  stood  at  gaze. 

"  Was  your  ship  so  large,  then  ? "  demanded  Par 
adise,  while  a  murmur  of  admiration,  larded  with 
oaths,  ran  around  the  circle. 

"  She  was  a  very  great  galleon,"  I  replied,  with  a 
sigh  for  the  good  ship  that  was  gone. 

A  moment's  silence,  during  which  they  all  looked 
at  me.  "  A  galleon,"  then  said  Paradise  softly. 

"  They  that  sailed  her  yesterday  are  to-day  at  the 
bottom  of  the  sea,"  I  continued.  "  Alackaday !  so 


I   CHANGE  MY  NAME  AND   OCCUPATION    203 

are  one  hundred  thousand  pezos  of  gold,  three  thou 
sand  bars  of  silver,  ten  frails  of  pearls,  jewels  un 
counted,  cloth  of  gold  and  cloth  of  silver.  She  was  a 
very  rich  prize." 

The  circle  sucked  in  their  breath.  "  All  at  the  bot 
tom  of  the  sea?"  queried  Red  Gil,  with  gloating  eyes 
fixed  upon  the  smiling  water.  "  Not  one  pezo  left, 
not  one  little,  little  pearl  ?  " 

I  shook  my  head  and  heaved  a  prodigious  sigh. 
"  The  treasure  is  gone,"  I  said,  "  and  the  men  with 
whom  I  took  it  are  gone.  I  am  a  captain  with  neither 
ship  nor  crew.  I  take  you,  my  friends,  for  a  ship 
and  crew  without  a  captain.  The  inference  is  ob 
vious." 

The  ring  gaped  with  wonder,  then  strange  oaths 
arose.  Red  Gil  broke  into  a  bellow  of  angry  laughter, 
while  the  Spaniard  glared  like  a  catamount  about  to 
spring.  "  So  you  would  be  our  captain  ?"  said  Para 
dise,  picking  up  another  shell,  and  poising  it  upon  a 
hand  as  fine  and  small  as  a  woman's. 

"  Faith,  you  might  go  farther  and  fare  worse,"  I 
answered,  and  began  to  hum  a  tune.  When  I  had 
finished  it,  "  I  am  Kirby,"  I  said,  and  waited  to  see 
if  that  shot  should  go  wide  or  through  the  hull. 

For  two  minutes  the  dash  of  the  surf  and  the  cries 
of  the  wheeling  sea  fowl  made  the  only  sound  in  that 
part  of  the  world ;  then  from  those  half -clad  rapscal 
lions  arose  a  shout  of  "  Kirby  !  "  —  a  shout  in  which 
the  three  leaders  did  not  join.  That  one  who  looked 
a  gentleman  rose  from  the  sand  arid  made  me  a  low 
bow.  "  Well  met,  noble  captain,"  he  cried  in  those 
his  honey  tones.  "  You  will  doubtless  remember  me 
who  was  with  you  that  time  at  Maracaibo  when  you 
sunk  the  galleasses.  Five  years  have  passed  since 


204  TO   HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

then,  and  yet  I  see  you  ten  years  younger  and  three 
inches  taller." 

"I  touched  once  at  the  Lucayas,  and  found  the 
spring  de  Leon  sought,"  I  said.  "  Sure  the  waters 
have  a  marvelous  effect,  and  if  they  give  not  eternal 
youth  at  least  renew  that  which  we  have  lost." 

"  Truly  a  potent  aqua  vita3,"  he  remarked,  still 
with  thoughtful  melancholy.  "I  see  that  it  hath 
changed  your  eyes  from  black  to  gray." 

"  It  hath  that  peculiar  virtue,"  I  said,  "  that  it  can 
make  black  seem  white." 

The  man  with  the  woman's  mantle  drawn  about 
him  now  thrust  himself  irom  the  rear  to  the  front 
rank.  "  That 's  not  Kirby !  "  he  bawled.  "  He  's  no 
more  Kirby  than  I  am  Kirby !  Did  n't  I  sail  with 
Kirby  from  the  Summer  Isles  to  Cartagena  and  back 
again  ?  He  's  a  cheat,  and  I  am  agoing  to  cut  his 
heart  out ! "  He  was  making  at  me  with  a  long 
knife,  when  I  whipped  out  my  rapier. 

"  Am  I  not  Kirby,  you  dog  ?  "  I  cried,  and  ran  him 
through  the  shoulder. 

He  dropped,  and  his  fellows  surged  forward  with  a 
yell.  "  Yet  a  little  patience,  my  masters !  "  said  Para 
dise  in  a  raised  voice  and  with  genuine  amusement  in 
his  eyes.  "  It  is  true  that  that  Kirby  with  whom  I 
and  our  friend  there  on  the  ground  sailed  was  some 
what  short  and  as  swart  as  a  raven,  besides  having  a  ' 
cut  across  his  face  that  had  taken  away  a  part  of  his 
lip  and  the  top  of  his  ear,  and  that  this  gentleman 
who  announces  himself  as  Kirby  hath  none  of  Kirby's 
marks.  But  we  are  fair  and  generous  and  open  to 
conviction  "  — 

"  He  '11  have  \,o  convince  my  cutlass  !  "  roared  Ked 
Gil. 


I   CHANGE  MY  NAME  AND  OCCUPATION    205 

I  turned  upon  him.  "If  I  do  convince  it,  what 
then?"  I  demanded.  "If  I  convince  your  sword, 
you  of  Spain,  and  yours,  Sir  Black  and  Silver?  " 

The  Spaniard  stared.  "I  was  the  best  sword  in 
Lima,"  he  said  stiffly.  "I  and  my  Toledo  will  not 
change  our  minds." 

"  Let  him  try  to  convince  Paradise ;  he 's  got  no 
reputation  as  a  swordsman ! "  cried  out  the  grave- 
digger  with  the  broken  head. 

A  roar  of  laughter  followed  this  suggestion,  and 
I  gathered  from  it  and  from  the  oaths  and  allusions 
to  this  or  that  time  and  place  that  Paradise  was  not 
without  reputation. 

I  turned  to  him.  "  If  I  fight  you  three,  one  by  one, 
and  win,  am  I  Kirby  ?  " 

He  regarded  the  shell  with  which  he  was  toying 
with  a  thoughtful  smile,  held  it  up  that  the  light 
might  strike  through  its  rose  and  pearl,  then  crushed 
it  to  dust  between  his  fingers. 

"  Ay,"  he  said  with  an  oath.  "  If  you  win  against 
the  cutlass  of  Red  Gil,  the  best  blade  of  Lima,  and 
the  sword  of  Paradise,  you  may  call  yourself  the  devil 
an  you  please,  and  we  will  all  subscribe  to  it." 

I  lifted  my  hand.     "  I  am  to  have  fair  play  ?  " 

As  one  man  that  crew  of  desperate  villains  swore 
that  the  odds  should  be  only  three  to  one.  By  this 
the  whole  matter  had  presented  itself  to  them  as  an. 
entertainment  more  diverting  than  bullfight  or  bear- 
baiting.  They  that  follow  the  sea,  whether  honest 
men  or  black-hearted  knaves,  have  in  their  composi 
tion  a  certain  childlikeness  that  makes  them  easily 
turned,  easily  led,  and  easily  pleased.  The  wind  of 
their  passion  shifts  quickly  from  point  to  point,  one 
moment  blowing  a  hurricane,  the  next  sinking  to  a 


206  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

happy-go-lucky  summer  breeze.  I  have  seen  a  little 
thing  convert  a  crew  on  the  point  of  mutiny  into  a 
set  of  rollicking,  good-natured  souls  who  —  until  the 
wind  veered  again  —  would  not  hurt  a  fly.  So  with 
these.  They  spread  themselves  into  a  circle,  squatting 
or  kneeling  or  standing  upon  the  white  sand  in  the 
bright  sunshine,  their  sinewy  hands  that  should  have 
been  ingrained  red  clasped  over  their  knees,  or,  arms 
akimbo,  resting  upon  their  hips,  on  their  scoundrel 
faces  a  broad  smile,  and  in  their  eyes  that  had  looked 
on  nameless  horrors  a  pleasurable  expectation  as  of 
spectators  in  a  playhouse  awaiting  the  entrance  of  the 
players. 

"  There  is  really  no  good  reason  why  we  should 
gratify  your  whim,"  said  Paradise,  still  amused. 
"  But  it  will  serve  to  pass  the  time.  We  will  fight 
you,  one  by  one." 

"  And  if  I  win  ?  " 

He  laughed.  "  Then,  on  the  honor  of  a  gentleman, 
you  are  Kirby  and  our  captain.  If  you  lose,  we  will 
leave  you  where  you  stand  for  the  gulls  to  bury." 

"  A  bargain,"  I  said,  and  drew  my  sword. 

"  I  first !  "  roared  Red  Gil.  "  God's  wounds  !  there 
will  need  no  second  !  " 

As  he  spoke  he  swung  his  cutlass  and  made  an  arc 
of  blue  flame.  The  weapon  became  in  his  hands  a 
flail,  terrible  to  look  upon,  making  lightnings  and 
whistling  in  the  air,  but  in  reality  not  so  deadly  as 
it  seemed.  The  fury  of  his  onslaught  would  have 
beaten  down  the  guard  of  any  mere  swordsman,  but 
that  I  was  not.  A  man,  knowing  his  weakness  and 
insufficiency  in  many  and  many  a  thing,  may  yet  know 
his  strength  in  one  or  two  and  his  modesty  take  no 
hurt.  I  was  ever  master  of  my  sword,  and  it  did  the 


I   CHANGE   MY  NAME  AND   OCCUPATION    207 

thing  I  would  have  it  do.  Moreover,  as  I  fought  I 
saw  her  as  I  had  last  seen  her,  standing  against  the 
bank  of  sand,  her  dark  hair,  half  braided,  drawn  over 
her  bosom  and  hanging  to  her  knees.  Her  eyes 
haunted  me,  and  my  lips  yet  felt  the  touch  of  her  hand. 
I  fought  well,  —  how  well  the  lapsing  of  oaths  and 
laughter  into  breathless  silence  bore  witness. 

O 

The  ruffian  against  whom  I  was  pitted  began  to 
draw  his  breath  in  gasps.  He  was  a  scoundrel  not  fit 
to  die,  less  fit  to  live,  unworthy  of  a  gentleman's  steel. 
I  presently  ran  him  through  with  as  little  compunc 
tion  and  as  great  a  desire  to  be  quit  of  a  dirty  job  as 
if  he  had  been  a  mad  dog.  He  fell,  and  a  little  later, 
while  I  was  engaged  with  the  Spaniard,  his  soul  went 
to  that  hell  which  had  long  gaped  for  it.  To  those 
his  companions  his  death  was  as  slight  a  thing  as  would 
theirs  have  been  to  him.  In  the  eyes  of  the  two  re 
maining  would-be  leaders  he  was  a  stumbling-block 
removed,  and  to  the  squatting,  open-mouthed  common 
alty  his  taking  off  weighed  not  a  feather  against  the 
solid  entertainment  I  was  affording  them.  I  was  now 
a  better  man  than  Red  Gil,  —  that  was  all. 

The  Spaniard  was  a  more  formidable  antagonist. 
The  best  blade  of  Lima  was  by  no  means  to  be  de 
spised  ;  but  Lima  is  a  small  place,  and  its  blades  can 
be  numbered.  The  sword  that  for  three  years  had 
been  counted  the  best  in  all  the  Low  Countries  was 
its  better.  But  I  fought  fasting  and  for  the  second 
time  that  morning,  so  maybe  the  odds  were  not  so 
great.  I  wounded  him  slightly,  and  presently  suc 
ceeded  in  disarming  him.  "  Am  I  Kirby  ?  "  I  de 
manded,  with  my  point  at  his  breast. 

"  Kirby,  of  course,  senor,"  he  answered  with  a  sour 
smile,  his  eyes  upon  the  gleaming  blade. 


208  TO  HAVE  AND  TO   HOLD 

I  lowered  my  point  and  we  bowed  to  each  other, 
after  which  he  sat  down  upon  the  sand  and  applied 
himself  to  stanching  the  bleeding  from  his  wound. 
The  pirate  ring  gave  him  no  attention,  but  stared  at 
me  instead.  I  was  now  a  better  man  than  the  Span 
iard. 

The  man  in  black  and  silver  rose  and  removed  his 
loublet,  folding  it  very  carefully,  inside  out,  that  the 
fiand  might  not  injure  the  velvet,  then  drew  his  rapier, 
looked  at  it  lovingly,  made  it  bend  until  point  and 
hilt  well-nigh  met,  and  faced  me  with  a  bow. 

"  You  have  fought  twice,  and  must  be  weary,"  he 
said.  "  Will  you  not  take  breath  before  we  engage, 
or  will  your  long  rest  afterward  suffice  you  ?  " 

"  I  will  rest  aboard  my  ship,"  I  made  reply.  "  And 
as  I  am  in  a  hurry  to  be  gone  we  won't  delay." 

Our  blades  had  no  sooner  crossed  than  I  knew  that 
in  this  last  encounter  I  should  need  every  whit  of  my 
skill,  all  my  wit,  audacity,  and  strength.  I  had  met 
my  equal,  and  he  came  to  it  fresh  and  I  jaded.  I 
clenched  my  teeth  and  prayed  with  all  my  heart ;  I  set 
her  face  before  me,  and  thought  if  I  should  fail  her  to 
what  ghastly  fate  she  might  come,  and  I  fought  as  I 
had  never  fought  before.  The  sound  of  the  surf  be 
came  a  roar  in  my  ears,  the  sunshine  an  intolerable 
blaze  of  light ;  the  blue  above  and  around  seemed  sud 
denly  beneath  my  feet  as  well.  We  were  fighting 
high  in  the  air,  and  had  fought  thus  for  ages.  I  knew 
that  he  made  no  thrust  I  did  not  parry,  no  feint  I 
could  not  interpret.  I  knew  that  my  eye  was  more 
quick  to  see,  my  brain  to  conceive,  and  my  hand  to 
execute  than  ever  before ;  but  it  was  as  though  I  held 
that  knowledge  of  some  other,  and  I  myself  was  far 
away,  at  Weyanoke,  in  the  minister's  garden,  in  the 


I  CHANGE  MY  NAME  AND  OCCUPATION    209 

haunted  wood,  anywhere  save  on  that  barren  islet.  I 
heard  him  swear  under  his  breath,  and  in  the  face  I 
had  set  before  me  the  eyes  brightened.  As  if  she  had 
loved  me  I  fought  for  her  with  all  my  powers  of  body 
and  mind.  He  swore  again,  and  my  heart  laughed 
within  me.  The  sea  now  roared  less  loudly,  and  I 
felt  the  good  earth  beneath  my  feet.  Slowly  but 
surely  I  wore  him  out.  His  breath  came  short,  the 
sweat  stood  upon  his  forehead,  and  still  I  deferred 
my  attack.  He  made  the  thrust  of  a  boy  of  fifteen, 
and  I  smiled  as  I  put  it  by. 

"Why  don't  you  end  it? "he  breathed.  "Finish 
and  be  d — d  to  you !  " 

For  answer  I  sent  his  sword  flying  over  the  nearest 
hillock  of  sand.  "  Am  I  Kirby  ?  "  I  said.  He  fell 
back  against  the  heaped-up  sand  and  leaned  there, 
panting,  with  his  hand  to  his  side.  "  Kirby  or  devil," 
he  replied.  "  Have  it  your  own  way." 

I  turned  to  the  now  highly  excited  rabble.  "  Shove 
the  boats  off,  half  a  dozen  of  you !  "  I  ordered.  "  Some 
of  you  others  take  up  that  carrion  there  and  throw  it 
into  the  sea.  The  gold  upon  it  is  for  your  pains.  You 
there  with  the  wounded  shoulder  you  have  no  great 
hurt.  I  '11  salve  it  with  ten  pieces  of  eight  from  the 
captain's  own  share,  the  next  prize  we  take." 

A  shout  of  acclamation  arose  that  scared  the  sea 
fowl.  They  who  so  short  a  time  before  had  been 
ready  to  tear  me  limb  from  limb  now  with  the  great 
est  apparent  delight  hailed  me  as  captain.  How  soon 
they  might  revert  to  their  former  mood  was  a  question 
that  I  found  not  worth  while  to  propound  to  myself. 

By  this  the  man  in  black  and  silver  had  recovered 
his  breath  and  his  equanimity.  "  Have  you  no  com 
mission  with  which  to  honor  me,  noble  captain  ?  "  he 


210  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

asked  in  gently  reproachful  tones.  "  Have  you  for 
got  how  often  you  were  wont  to  employ  me  in  those 
sweet  days  when  your  eyes  were  black  ?  " 

"  By  no  means,  Master  Paradise,"  I  said  courteously. 
"  I  desire  your  company  and  that  of  the  gentleman 
from  Lima.  You  will  go  with  me  to  bring  up  the 
rest  of  my  party.  The  three  gentlemen  of  the  broken 
head,  the  bushy  ruff,  which  I  protest  is  vastly  becom 
ing,  and  the  wounded  shoulder  will  escort  us." 

"  The  rest  of  your  party  ?  "  said  Paradise  softly. 

"  Ay,"  I  answered  nonchalantly.  "  They  are  down 
the  beach  and  around  the  point  warming  themselves 
by  a  fire  which  this  piled-up  sand  hides  from  you. 
Despite  the  sunshine  it  is  a  biting  air.  Let  us  be 
going !  This  island  wearies  me,  and  I  am  anxious  to 
be  on  board  ship  and  away." 

"  So  small  an  escort  scarce  befits  so  great  a  cap 
tain,"  he  said.  "  We  will  all  attend  you."  One  and 
all  started  forward. 

I  called  to  mind  and  gave  utterance  to  all  the  oaths 
I  had  heard  in  the  wars.  "  I  entertain  you  for  my 
subordinate  whom  I  command,  and  not  who  commands 
me  !  "  I  cried,  when  my  memory  failed  me.  "  As  for 
you,  you  dogs,  who  would  question  your  captain  and 
his  doings,  stay  where  you  are,  if  you  would  not  be 
lessoned  in  earnest !  " 

Sheer  audacity  is  at  times  the  surest  steed  a  man 
can  bestride.  Now  at  least  it  did  me  good  service. 
With  oaths  and  grunts  of  admiration  the  pirates  stayed 
where  they  were,  and  went  about  their  business  of 
launching  the  boats  and  stripping  the  body  of  Red 
Gil,  while  the  man  in  black  and  silver,  the  Spaniard, 
the  two  gravediggers,  the  knave  with  the  wounded 
shoulder,  and  myself  walked  briskly  up  the  beach. 


I  CHANGE  MY  NAME  AND  OCCUPATION    211 

With  these  five  at  my  heels  I  strode  up  to  the  dy 
ing  fire  and  to  those  who  had  sprung  to  their  feet  at 
our  approach.  "  Sparrow,"  I  said  easily,  "  luck  being 
with  us  as  usual,  I  have  fallen  in  with  a  party  of 
rovers.  I  have  told  them  who  I  am,  —  that  Kirby, 
to  wit,  whom  an  injurious  world  calls  the  blackest 
pirate  unhanged,  —  and  have  recounted  to  them  how 
the  great  galleon  which  I  took  some  months  ago  went 
down  yesterday  with  all  on  board,  you  and  I  with  these 
others  being  the  sole  survivors.  By  dint  of  a  little 
persuasion  they  have  elected  me  their  captain,  and  we 
will  go  on  board  directly  and  set  sail  for  the  Indies,  a 
hunting  ground  which  we  never  should  have  left.  You 
need  not  look  so  blank  ;  you  shall  be  my  mate  and 
right  hand  still."  I  turned  to  the  five  who  formed 
my  escort.  "  This,  gentlemen,  is  my  mate,  Jeremy 
Sparrow  by  name,  who  hath  a  taste  for  divinity  that 
in  no  wise  interferes  with  his  taste  for  a  galleon  or 
a  guarda  costa.  This  man,  Diccon  Demon  by  name, 
was  of  my  crew.  The  gentleman  without  a  sword  is 
my  prisoner,  taken  by  me  from  the  last  ship  I  sunk. 
How  he,  an  Englishman,  came  to  be  upon  a  Spanish 
bark  I  have  not  found  leisure  to  inquire.  The  lady  is 
my  prisoner,  also." 

"  Sure  by  rights  she  should  be  gaoler  and  hold  all 
men's  hearts  in  ward,"  said  Paradise,  with  a  low  bow 
to  my  unfortunate  captive. 

While  he  spoke  a  most  remarkable  transformation 
was  going  on.  The  minister's  grave,  rugged,  and 
deeply  lined  face  smoothed  itself  and  shed  ten  years  at 
least ;  in  the  eyes  that  I  had  seen  wet  with  noble  tears 
a  laughing  devil  now  lurked,  while  his  strong  mouth 
became  a  loose-lipped,  devil-may-care  one.  His  head 
with  its  aureole  of  bushy,  grizzled  hair  set  itself  jaunt- 


212  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

ily  upon  one  side,  and  from  it  and  from  his  face  and 
his  whole  great  frame  breathed  a  wicked  jollity  quite 
indescribable. 

"  Odsbodikins,  captain  !  "  he  cried.  "  Kirby's  luck ! 
—  't  will  pass  into  a  saw  !  Adzooks  !  and  so  you  're 
captain  once  more,  and  I  'm  mate  once  more,  and  we  've 
a  ship  once  more,  and  we  're  off  once  more 

To  sail  the  Spanish  Main, 
And  give  the  Spaniard  pain, 

Heave  ho,  bully  boy,  heave  ho  ! 

By  'r  lakin  !  I  'm  too  dry  to  sing.  It  will  take  all 
the  wine  of  Xeres  in  the  next  galleon  to  unparch  my 
tongue !  " 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

IN   WHICH   WE   WRITE   UPON   THE    SAND 

DAY  after  day  the  wind  filled  our  sails  and  sang  in 
the  rigging,  and  day  after  day  we  sailed  through  blue 
seas  toward  the  magic  of  the  south.  Day  after  day  a 
listless  and  voluptuous  world  seemed  too  idle  for  any 
dream  of  wrong,  and  day  after  day  we  whom  a  strange 
turn  of  Fortune's  wheel  had  placed  upon  a  pirate  ship 
held  our  lives  in  our  hands,  and  walked  so  close  with 
Death  that  at  length  that  very  intimacy  did  breed  con 
tempt.  It  was  not  a  time  to  think  ;  it  was  a  time  to 
act,  to  laugh  and  make  others  laugh,  to  bluster  and 
brag,  to  estrange  sword  and  scabbard,  to  play  one's 
hand  with  a  fine  unconcern,  but  all  the  time  to  watch, 
watch,  watch,  day  in  and  day  out,  every  minute  of 
every  hour.  That  ship  became  a  stage,  and  we,  the 
actors,  should  have  been  applauded  to  the  echo.  How 
well  we  played  let  witness  the  fact  that  the  ship  came 
to  the  Indies,  with  me  for  captain  and  the  minister 
for  mate,  and  with  the  woman  that  was  on  board  un 
harmed  ;  nay,  reverenced  like  a  queen.  The  great 
cabin  was  hers,  and  the  poop  deck ;  we  made  for  her 
a  fantastic  state  with  doffing  of  hats  and  bowings  and 
backward  steps.  We  were  her  guard,  —  the  gentle 
men  of  the  Queen,  —  I  and  rny  Lord  Carnal,  the  min 
ister  and  Diccon,  and  we  kept  between  her  and  the 
rest  of  the  ship. 

We  did  our  best,  and   our   best   was  very  much. 


214  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

When  I  think  of  the  songs  the  minister  sang ;  of  the 
roars  of  laughter  that  went  up  from  the  lounging  pi 
rates  when,  sitting  astride  one  of  the  main-deck  guns, 
he  made  his  voice  call  to  them,  now  from  the  hold, 
now  from  the  stern  gallery,  now  from  the  masthead, 
now  from  the  gilt  sea  maid  upon  the  prow,  I  laugh 
too.  Sometimes  a  space  was  cleared  for  him,  and  he 
played  to  them  as  to  the  pit  at  Blackfriars.  They 
laughed  and  wept  and  swore  with  delight,  —  all  save 
the  Spaniard,  who  was  ever  like  a  thundercloud,  and 
Paradise,  who  only  smiled  like  some  languid,  side-box 
lord.  There  was  wine  on  board,  and  during  the  long, 
idle  days,  when  the  wind  droned  in  the  rigging  like  a 
bagpipe,  and  there  was  never  a  cloud  in  the  sky,  and 
the  galleons  were  still  far  away,  the  pirates  gambled 
and  drank.  Diccon  diced  with  them,  and  taught  them 
all  the  oaths  of  a  free  company.  So  much  wine,  and 
no  more,  should  they  have  ;  when  they  frowned,  I  let 
them  see  that  their  frowning  and  their  half-drawn 
knives  mattered  no  doit  to  me.  It  was  their  whim  — 
a  huge  jest  of  which  they  could  never  have  enough 
—  still  to  make  believe  that  they  sailed  under  Kirby. 
Lest  it  should  spoil  the  jest,  and  while  the  jest  out 
ranked  all  other  entertainment,  they  obeyed  as  though 
I  had  been  indeed  that  fierce  sea  wolf. 

Time  passed,  though  it  passed  like  a  tortoise,  and 
we  came  to  the  Lucayas,  to  the  outposts  of  the  vast 
hunting  ground  of  Spaniard  and  pirate  and  buccaneer, 
the  fringe  of  that  zone  of  beauty  and  villainy  and  fear, 
and  sailed  slowly  past  the  islands,  looking  for  our  prey. 

The  sea  was  blue  as  blue  could  be.  Only  in  the 
morning  and  the  evening  it  glowed  blood  red,  or 
spread  upon  its  still  bosom  all  the  gold  of  all  the  Indies, 
or  became  an  endless  mead  of  palest  green  shot  with 


IN  WHICH  WE  WRITE  UPON  THE  SAND    215 

amethyst.  When  night  fell,  it  mirrored  the  stars, 
great  and  small,  or  was  caught  in  a  net  of  gold  flung 
across  it  from  horizon  to  horizon.  The  ship  rent  the 
net  with  a  wake  of  white  fire.  The  air  was  balm  ; 
the  islands  were  enchanted  places,  abandoned  by  Span 
iard  and  Indian,  overgrown,  serpent-haunted.  The 
reef,  the  still  water,  pink  or  gold,  the  gleaming  beach, 
the  green  plume  of  the  palm,  the  scarlet  birds,  the 
cataracts  of  bloom,  —  the  senses  swooned  with  the 
color,  the  steaming  incense,  the  warmth,  the  wonder 
of  that  fantastic  world.  Sometimes,  in  the  crystal 
waters  near  the  land,  we  sailed  over  the  gardens  of 
the  sea  gods,  and,  looking  down,  saw  red  and  purple 
blooms  and  shadowy  waving  forests,  with  rainbow 
fish  for  humming  birds.  Once  we  saw  below  us  a 
sunken  ship.  With  how  much  gold  she  had  endowed 
the  wealthy  sea,  how  many  long  drowned  would  rise 
from  her  rotted  decks  when  the  waves  gave  up  their 
dead,  no  man  could  tell.  Away  from  the  ship  darted 
many-hued  fish,  gold-disked,  or  barred  and  spotted 
with  crimson,  or  silver  and  purple.  The  dolphin  and 
the  tunny  and  the  flying  fish  swam  with  us.  Some 
times  flights  of  small  birds  came  to  us  from  the  land. 
Sometimes  the  sea  was  thickly  set  with  full-blown  pale 
red  bloom,  the  jellyfish  that  was  a  flower  to  the  sight 
and  a  nettle  to  the  touch.  If  a  storm  arose,  a  fury 
that  raged  and  threatened,  it  presently  swept  away, 
and  the  blue  laughed  again.  When  the  sun  sank, 
there  arose  in  the  east  such  a  moon  as  might  have  been 
sole  light  to  all  the  realms  of  faery.  A  beauty  lan 
guorous  and  seductive  was  most  absolute  empress  of 
the  wonderful  land  and  the  wonderful  sea. 

We  were  in  the  hunting  grounds,  and  men  went 
not  there  to  gather  flowers.     Day  after  day  we  watched 


216  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

for  Spanish  sails  ;  for  the  plate  fleets  went  that  way, 
and  some  galleass  or  caravel  or  galleon  might  stray 
aside.  At  last,  in  the  clear  green  bay  of  a  nameless 
island  at  which  we  stopped  for  water,  we  found  two 
carracks  come  upon  the  same  errand,  took  them,  and 
with  them  some  slight  treasure  in  rich  cloths  and  gems. 
A  week  later,  in  a  strait  between  two  islands  like 
tinted  clouds,  we  fought  a  very  great  galleon  from 
sunrise  to  noon,  pierced  her  hull  through  and  through 
and  silenced  her  ordnance,  then  boarded  her  and  found 
a  king's  ransom  in  gold  and  silver.  When  the  fight 
ing  had  ceased  and  the  treasure  was  ours,  then  we 
four  stood  side  by  side  on  the  deck  of  the  slowly  sink 
ing  galleon,  in  front  of  our  prisoners,  —  of  the  men 
who  had  fought  well,  of  the  ashen  priests  and  the 
trembling  women.  Those  whom  we  faced  were  in 
high  good  humor :  they  had  gold  with  which  to  gam 
ble,  and  wine  to  drink,  and  rich  clothing  with  which 
to  prank  their  villainous  bodies,  and  prisoners  with 
whom  to  make  merry.  When  I  ordered  the  Span 
iards  to  lower  their  boats,  and  taking  with  them  their 
priests  and  women  row  off  to  one  of  those  two  islands, 
the  weather  changed. 

We  outlived  that  storm,  but  how  I  scarcely  know. 
As  Kirby  would  have  done,  so  did  I ;  rating  my  crew 
like  hounds,  turning  my  point  this  way  and  that,  dar 
ing  them  to  come  taste  the  red  death  upon  it,  braving 
it  out  like  some  devil  who  knows  he  is  invulnerable. 
My  lord,  swinging  the  cutlass  with  which  he  was 
armed,  stood  beside  me,  knee  to  knee,  and  Diccon 
cursed  after  me,  making  quarterstaff  play  with  his 
long  pike.  But  it  was  the  minister  that  won  us  through. 
At  length  they  laughed,  and  Paradise,  standing  for 
ward,  swore  that  such  a  captain  and  such  a  mate  were 


IN  WHICH  WE   WRITE  UPON  THE  SAND    217 

worth  the  lives  of  a  thousand  Spaniards.  To  pleasure 
Kirby,  they  would  depart  this  once  from  their  ancient 
usage  and  let  the  prisoners  go,  though  it  was  passing 
strange,  —  it  being  Kirby 's  wont  to  clap  prisoners 
under  hatches  and  fire  their  ship  above  them.  At  the 
end  of  which  speech  the  Spaniard  began  to  rave,  and 
sprang  at  me  like  a  catamount.  Paradise  put  forth  a 
foot  and  tripped  him  up,  whereat  the  pirates  laughed 
again,  and  held  him  back  when  he  would  have  come 
at  me  a  second  time. 

From  the  deck  of  the  shattered  galleon  I  watched 
her  boats,  with  their  heavy  freight  of  cowering  human 
ity,  pull  off  toward  the  island.  Back  upon  my  own 
poop,  the  grappling  irons  cast  loose,  and  a  swiftly 
widening  ribbon  of  blue  between  us  and  the  sinking 
ship,  I  looked  at  the  pirates  thronging  the  waist  below 
me,  and  knew  that  the  play  was  nearly  over.  How 
many  days,  weeks,  hours,  before  the  lights  would  go 
out,  I  could  not  tell :  they  might  burn  until  we  took 
or  lost  another  ship ;  the  next  hour  might  see  that 
brief  tragedy  consummated. 

I  turned,  and  going  below  met  Sparrow  at  the  foot 
of  the  poop  ladder. 

"  I  have  sworn  at  these  pirates  until  my  hair  stood 
on  end,"  he  said  ruefully.  "  God  forgive  me !  And 
I  have  bent  into  circles  three  half  pikes  in  demonstra 
tion  of  the  thing  that  would  occur  to  them  if  they 
tempted  me  overmuch.  And  I  have  sung  them  all 
the  bloody  and  lascivious  songs  that  ever  I  knew  in 
my  unregenerate  days.  I  have  played  the  bravo  and 
buffoon  until  they  gaped  for  wonder.  I  have  damned 
myself  to  all  eternity,  I  fear,  but  there  '11  be  no 
mutiny  this  fair  day.  It  may  arrive  by  to-morrow, 
though." 


218  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

"  Likely  enough,"  I  said.  "  Come  within.  I  have 
eaten  nothing  since  yes.terday." 

"  I  '11  speak  to  Diccon  first,"  he  answered,  and  went 
on  toward  the  forecastle,  while  I  entered  the  state 
cabin.  Here  I  found  Mistress  Percy  kneeling  beside 
the  bench  beneath  the  stern  windows,  her  face  buried 
in  her  outstretched  arms,  Jier  dark  hair  shadowing 
her  like  a  mantle.  When  I  spoke  to  her  she  did  not 
answer.  With  a  sudden  fear  I  stooped  and  touched 
her  clasped  hands.  A  shudder  ran  through  her  frame, 
and  she  slowly  raised  a  colorless  face. 

"  Are  you  come  back  ?  "  she  whispered.  "  I  thought 
you  would  never  come  back.  I  thought  they  had 
killed  you.  I  was  only  praying  before  I  killed  my 
self." 

I  took  her  hands  and  wrung  them  apart  to  rouse 
her,  she  was  so  white  and  cold,  and  spoke  so  strangely. 
"  God  forbid  that  I  should  die  yet  awhile,  madam !  " 
I  said.  "  When  I  can  no  longer  serve  you,  then  I 
shall  not  care  how  soon  I  die." 

The  eyes  with  which  she  gazed  upon  me  were  still 
wide  and  unseeing.  "  The  guns  !  "  she  cried,  wresting 
her  hands  from  mine  and  putting  them  to  her  ears. 
"  Oh,  the  guns  !  they  shake  the  air.  And  the  screams 
and  the  trampling  —  the  guns  again !  " 

I  brought  her  wine  and  made  her  drink  it ;  then 
sat  beside  her,  and  told  her  gently,  over  and  over 
again,  that  there  was  no  longer  thunder  of  the  guns 
or  screams  or  trampling.  At  last  the  long,  tearless 
sobs  ceased,  and  she  rose  from  her  knees,  and  let  me 
lead  her  to  the  door  of  her  cabin.  There  she  thanked 
me  softly,  with  downcast  eyes  and  lips  that  yet  trem 
bled  ;  then  vanished  from  my  sight,  leaving  me  first 
to  wonder  at  that  terror  and  emotion  in  her  who  sel- 


IN  WHICH  WE  WRITE  UPON  THE  SAND    219 

dom  showed  the  thing  she  felt,  and  finally  to  conclude 
that  it  was  not  so  wonderful  after  all. 

We  sailed  on,  —  southwards  to  Cuba,  then  north 
again  to  the  Lucayas  and  the  Florida  straits,  looking 
for  Spanish  ships  and  their  gold.  The  lights  yet 
burned,  —  now  brightly,  now  so  sunken  that  it  seemed 
as  though  the  next  hour  they  must  flicker  out.  We, 
the  players,  flagged  not  in  that  desperate  masque  ;  but 
we  knew  that,  in  spite  of  all  endeavor,  the  darkness 
was  coming  fast  upon  us. 

Had  it  been  possible,  we  would  have  escaped  from 
the  ship,  hazarding  new  fortunes  on  the  Spanish  Main, 
in  an  open  boat,  sans  food  or  water.  But  the  pirates 
watched  us  very  closely.  They  called  me  "  captain  " 
and  "  Kirby,"  and  for  the  jest's  sake  gave  an  exag 
gerated  obedience,  with  laughter  and  flourishes ;  but 
none  the  less  I  was  their  prisoner,  —  I  and  those  I 
had  brought  with  me  to  that  ship. 

An  islet,  shaped  like  the  crescent  moon,  rose  from 
out  the  sea  before  us.  We  needed  water,  and  so  we 
felt  our  way  between  the  horns  of  the  crescent  into 
the  blue  crystal  of  a  fairy  harbor.  One  low  hill,  rose- 
colored  from  base  to  summit,  with  scarce  a  hint  of 
the  green  world  below  that  canopy  of  giant  bloom,  a 
little  silver  beach  with  wonderful  shells  upon  it,  the 
sound  of  a  waterfall  and  a  lazy  surf,  —  we  smelt  the 
fruits  and  the  flowers,  and  a  longing  for  the  land 
came  upon  us.  Six  men  were  left  on  the  ship,  and  all 
besides  went  ashore.  Some  rolled  the  water  casks 
toward  the  sound  of  the  cascade ;  others  plunged  into 
the  forest,  to  return  laden  with  strange  and  luscious 
fruits,  birds,  guanas,  conies,  —  whatever  eatable  thing 
they  could  lay  hands  upon ;  others  scattered  along 
the  beach  to  find  turtle  eggs,  or,  if  fortune  favored 


220  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

them,  the  turtle  itself.  They  laughed,  they  sang, 
they  swore,  until  the  isle  rang  to  their  merriment. 
Like  wanton  children,  they  called  to  each  other,  to 
the  screaming  birds,  to  the  echoing  bloom-draped  hill. 

I  spread  a  square  of  cloth  upon  the  sand,  in  the 
shadow  of  a  mighty  tree  that  stood  at  the  edge  of  the 
forest,  and  the  King's  ward  took  her  seat  upon  it, 
and  looked,  in  the  golden  light  of  the  sinking  sun,  the 
very  spirit  of  the  isle.  By  this  we  two  were  alone  on 
the  beach.  The  hunters  for  eggs,  led  by  Diccon,  were 
out  upon  the  farthest  gleaming  horn  ;  from  the  wood 
came  the  loud  laughter  of  the  fruit  gatherers,  and  a 
most  rollicking  song  issuing  from  the  mighty  chest  of 
Master  Jeremy  Sparrow.  With  the  woodsmen  had 
gone  my  lord. 

I  walked  a  little  way  into  the  forest,  and  shouted  a 
warning  to  Sparrow  against  venturing  too  far.  When 
I  returned  to  the  giant  tree  and  the  cloth  in  the  shadow 
of  its  outer  branches,  my  wife  was  writing  on  the  sand 
with  a  pointed  shell.  She  had  not  seen  or  heard  me, 
and  I  stood  behind  her  and  read  what  she  wrote.  It 
was  my  name.  She  wrote  it  three  times,  slowly  and 
carefully ;  then  she  felt  my  presence,  glanced  swiftly 
up,  smiled,  rubbed  out  my  name,  and  wrote  Sparrow's, 
Diccon's,  and  the  King's  in  succession.  "  Lest  I 
should  forget  to  make  my  letters,"  she  explained. 

I  sat  down  at  her  feet,  and  for  some  time  we  said 
no  word.  The  light,  falling  between  the  heavy  blooms, 
cast  bright  sequins  upon  her  dress  and  dark  hair. 
The  blooms  were  not  more  pink  than  her  cheeks,  the 
recesses  of  the  forest  behind  us  not  deeper  or  darker 
than  her  eyes.  The  laughter  and  the  song  came 
faintly  to  us  now.  The  sun  was  low  in  the  west,  and 
a  wonderful  light  slept  upon  the  sea. 


FOR  SOME  TIME  WE  SAID  NO  WORD 


IN  WHICH   WE  WRITE  UPON  THE  SAND    221 

"  Last  year  we  had  a  masque  at  court,"  she  said  at 
length,  breaking  the  long  silence.  "  We  had  Calypso's 
island,  and  I  was  Calypso.  The  island  was  built  of 
boards  covered  with  green  velvet,  and  there  was  a 
mound  upon  it  of  pink  silk  roses.  There  was  a  deep 
blue  painted  sea  below,  and  a  deep  blue  painted  sky 
above.  My  nymphs  danced  around  the  mound  of 
roses,  while  I  sat  upon  a  real  rock  beside  the  painted 
sea  and  talked  with  Ulysses  —  to  wit,  my  Lord  of 
Buckingham  —  in  gold  armor.  That  was  a  strange, 
bright,  unreal,  and  wearisome  day,  but  not  so  strange 
and  unreal  as  this." 

She  ceased  to  speak,  and  began  again  to  write  upon 
the  sand.  I  watched  her  white  hand  moving  to  and 
fro.  She  wrote,  "  How  long  will  it  last  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  know.     Not  long." 

She  wrote  again  :  "  If  there  is  time  at  the  last,  when 
you  see  that  it  is  best,  will  you  kill  me  ?" 

I  took  the  shell  from  her  hand,  and  wrote  my 
answer  beneath  her  question. 

The  forest  behind  us  sank  into  that  pause  and 
breathless  hush  between  the  noises  of  the  day  and  the 
noises  of  the  night.  The  sun  dropped  lower,  and  the 
water  became  as  pink  as  the  blooms  above  us. 

"  An  you  could,  would  you  change  ?  "  I  asked. 
"  Would  you  return  to  England  and  safety  ?  " 

She  took  a  handful  of  the  sand  and  let  it  slowly 
drift  through  her  white  fingers.  "  You  know  that  I 
would  not,"  she  said ;  "  not  if  the  end  were  to  come 
to-night.  Only  — only  "  —  She  turned  from  me  and 
looked  far  out  to  sea.  I  could  not  see  her  face,  only 
the  dusk  of  her  hair  and  her  heaving  bosom.  "  My 
blood  may  be  upon  your  hands,"  she  said  in  a  whisper, 
"  but  yours  will  be  upon  my  soul." 


222  TO   HAVE  AND  TO   HOLD 

She  turned  yet  further  away,  and  covered  her  eyes 
with  her  hand.  I  arose,  and  bent  over  her  until  I 
could  have  touched  with  my  lips  that  bowed  head. 
"  Jocelyn,"  I  said. 

A  branch  of  yellow  fruit  fell  beside  us,  and  my 
Lord  Carnal,  a  mass  of  gaudy  bloom  in  his  hand, 
stepped  from  the  wood.  "  I  returned  to  lay  our  first- 
fruits  at  madam's  feet,"  he  explained,  his  darkly 
watchful  eyes  upon  us  both.  "A  gift  from  one 
poor  prisoner  to  another,  madam."  He  dropped  the 
flowers  in  her  lap.  "  Will  you  wear  them,  lady  ? 
They  are  as  fair  almost  as  I  could  wish." 

She  touched  the  blossoms  with  listless  fingers,  said 
they  were  fair ;  then,  rising,  let  them  drop  upon  the 
sand.  "  I  wear  no  flowers  save  of  my  husband's  gath 
ering,  my  lord,"  she  said. 

There  was  a  pathos  and  weariness  in  her  voice,  and 
a  mist  of  unshed  tears  in  her  eyes.  She  hated  him  ; 
she  loved  me  not,  yet  was  forced  to  turn  to  me  for 
help  at  every  point,  and  she  had  stood  for  weeks  upon 
the  brink  of  death  and  looked  unfalteringly  into  the 
gulf  beneath  her. 

"  My  lord,"  I  said,  "  you  know  in  what  direction 
Master  Sparrow  led  the  men.  Will  you  reenter  the 
wood  and  call  them  to  return  ?  The  sun  is  fast  sink 
ing,  and  darkness  will  be  upon  us." 

He  looked  from  her  to  me,  with  his  brows  drawn 
downwards  and  his  lips  pressed  together.  Stooping, 
he  took  up  the  fallen  flowers  and  deliberately  tore 
them  to  pieces,  until  the  pink  petals  were  all  scattered 
upon  the  sand. 

"  I  am  weary  of  requests  that  are  but  sugared  com 
mands,"  he  said  thickly.  "  Go  seek  your  own  men, 
an  you  will.  Here  we  are  but  man  to  man,  and  I 


IN  WHICH  WE  WRITE  UPON  THE  SAND    223 

budge  not.  I  stay,  as  the  King  would  have  me  stay, 
beside  the  unfortunate  lady  whom  you  have  made  the 
prisoner  and  the  plaything  of  a  pirate  ship." 

"  You  wear  no  sword,  my  Lord  Carnal,"  I  said  at 
last,  "  and  so  may  lie  with  impunity." 

"  But  you  can  get  me  one !  "  he  cried,  with  ill-con 
cealed  eagerness. 

I  laughed.  "  I  am  not  zealous  in  mine  enemy's 
cause,  my  lord.  I  shall  not  deprive  Master  Sparrow 
of  your  lordship's  sword." 

Before  I  knew  what  he  was  about  he  crossed  the 
yard  of  sand  between  us  and  struck  me  in  the  face. 
"Will  that  quicken  your  zeal?"  he  demanded  be 
tween  his  teeth. 

I  seized  him  by  the  arm,  and  we  stood  so,  both 
white  with  passion,  both  breathing  heavily.  At 
length  I  flung  his  arm  from  me  and  stepped  back. 
"I  fight  not  my  prisoner,"  I  said,  "nor,  while  the 
lady  you  have  named  abides  upon  that  ship  with  the 
nobleman  who,  more  than  myself,  is  answerable  for 
her  being  there,  do  I  put  my  life  in  unnecessary  haz 
ard.  I  will  endure  the  smart  as  best  I  may,  my  lord, 
until  a  more  convenient  season,  when  I  will  salve  it 
well." 

I  turned  to  Mistress  Percy,  and  giving  her  my 
hand  led  her  down  to  the  boats ;  for  I  heard  the  fruit 
gatherers  breaking  through  the  wood,  and  the  hunters 
for  eggs,  black  figures  against  the  crimson  sky,  were 
hurrying  down  the  beach.  Before  the  night  had  quite 
fallen  we  were  out  of  the  fairy  harbor,  and  when  the 
moon  rose  the  islet  looked  only  a  silver  sail  against 
the  jeweled  heavens. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

IN  WHICH   WE   CHOOSE    THE    LESSER    OF    TWO    EVILS 

THE  luck  that  had  been  ours  could  not  hold ;  when 
the  tide  turned,  it  ebbed  fast. 

The  weather  changed.  One  hurricane  followed 
upon  the  stride  of  another,  with  only  a  blue  day  or 
two  between.  Ofttimes  we  thought  the  ship  was  lost. 
All  hands  toiled  like  galley  slaves ;  and  as  the  hea 
vens  darkened,  there  darkened  also  the  mood  of  the 
pirates. 

In  sight  of  the  great  island  of  Cuba  we  gave  chase 
to  a  bark.  The  sun  was  shining  and  the  sea  fairly 
still  when  first  she  fled  before  us  ;  we  gained  upon 
her,  and  there  was  not  a  mile  between  us  when  a  cloud 
blotted  out  the  sun.  The  next  minute  our  own  sails 
gave  us  occupation  enough.  The  storm,  not  we,  was 
victor  over  the  bark ;  she  sank  with  a  shriek  from 
her  decks  that  rang  above  the  roaring  wind.  Two 
days  later  we  fought  a  large  caravel.  With  a  fortu 
nate  shot  she  brought  down  our  foremast,  and  sailed 
away  from  us  with  small  damage  of  her  own.  All 
that  day  and  night  the  wind  blew,  driving  us  out  of 
our  course,  and  by  dawn  we  were  as  a  shuttlecock 
between  it  and  the  sea.  We  weathered  the  gale,  but 
when  the  wind  sank  there  fell  on  board  that  black 
ship  a  menacing  silence. 

In  the  state  cabin  I  held  a  council  of  war.  Mis 
tress  Percy  sat  beside  me,  her  arm  upon  the  table, 


THE  LESSER  OF  TWO  EVILS  225 

her  hand  shadowing  her  eyes  ;  my  lord,  opposite, 
never  took  his  gaze  from  her,  though  he  listened 
gloomily  to  Sparrow's  rueful  assertion  that  the  brazen 
game  we  had  been  playing  was  well-nigh  over.  Die- 
con,  standing  behind  him,  bit  his  nails  and  stared  at 
the  floor. 

"  For  myself  I  care  not  overmuch,"  ended  the  min 
ister.  "  I  scorn  not  life,  but  think  it  at  its  worst  well 
worth  the  living ;  yet  when  my  God  calls  me,  I  will 
go  as  to  a  gala  day  and  triumph.  You  are  a  soldier, 
Captain  Percy,  you  and  Diccon  here,  and  know  how 
to  die.  You  too,  my  Lord  Carnal,  are  a  brave  man, 
though  a  most  wicked  one.  For  us  four,  we  can 
drink  the  cup,  bitter  though  it  be,  with  little  trem 
bling.  But  there  is  one  among  us  "  —  His  great 
voice  broke,  and  he  sat  staring  at  the  table. 

The  King's  ward  uncovered  her  eyes.  "  If  I  be 
not  a  man  and  a  soldier,  Master  Sparrow,"  she  said 
simply,  "  yet  I  am  the  daughter  of  many  valiant  gen 
tlemen.  I  will  die  as  they  died  before  me.  And  for 
me,  as  for  you  four,  it  will  be  only  death,  —  naught 
else."  She  looked  at  me  with  a  proud  smile. 

"  Naught  else,"  I  said. 

My  lord  started  from  his  seat  and  strode  over  to 
the  window,  where  he  stood  drumming  his  fingers 
against  the  casing.  I  turned  toward  him.  "  My 
Lord  Carnal,"  I  said,  "  you  were  overheard  last  night 
when  you  plotted  with  the  Spaniard." 

He  recoiled  with  a  gasp,  and  his  hand  went  to  his 
side,  where  it  found  no  sword.  I  saw  his  eyes  busy 
here  and  there  through  the  cabin,  seeking  something 
which  he  might  convert  into  a  weapon. 

"  I  am  yet  captain  of  this  ship,"  I  continued.  "  Why 
I  do  not,  even  though  it  be  my  last  act  of  authority, 
have  you  flung  to  the  sharks,  I  scarcely  know." 


226  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

He  threw  back  his  head,  all  his  bravado  re 
turned  to  him.  "  It  is  not  I  that  stand  in  danger," 
he  began  loftily ;  "  and  I  would  have  you  remember, 
sir,  that  you  are  my  enemy,  and  that  I  owe  you  no 
loyalty." 

"  I  am  content  to  be  your  enemy,"  I  answered. 

"You  do  not  dare  to  set  upon  me  now,"  he  went 
on,  with  his  old  insolent,  boastful  smile.  "  Let  me 
cry  out,  make  a  certain  signal,  and  they  without  will 
be  here  in  a  twinkling,  breaking  in  the  door  "  — 

"The  signal  set?"  I  said.  "The  mine  laid,  the 
match  burning  ?  Then  't  is  time  that  we  were  gone. 
When  I  bid  the  world  good-night,  my  lord,  my  wife 
goes  with  me." 

His  lips  moved  and  his  black  eyes  narrowed,  but  he 
did  not  speak. 

"  An  my  cheek  did  not  burn  so,"  I  said,  "  I  would 
be  content  to  let  you  live  ;  live,  captain  in  verity  of 
this  ship  of  devils,  until,  tired  of  you,  the  devils  cut 
your  throat,  or  until  some  victorious  Spaniard  hung 
you  at  his  yardarm  ;  live  even  to  crawl  back  to  Eng 
land,  by  hook  or  crook,  to  wait,  hat  in  hand,  in  the 
antechamber  of  his  Grace  of  Buckingham.  As  it  is, 
I  will  kill  you  here  and  now.  I  restore  you  your 
sword,  my  lord,  and  there  lies  my  challenge." 

I  flung  my  glove  at  his  feet,  and  Sparrow  unbuckled 
the  keen  blade  which  he  had  worn  since  the  day  I  had 
asked  it  of  its  owner,  and  pushed  it  to  me  across  the 
table.  The  King's  ward  leaned  back  in  her  chair,  very 
white,  but  with  a  proud,  still  face,  and  hands  loosely 
folded  in  her  lap.  My  lord  stood  irresolute,  his  lip 
caught  between  his  teeth,  his  eyes  upon  the  door. 

"Cry  out,  my  lord,"  I  said.  "You  are  in  dan 
ger.  Cry  to  your  friends  without,  who  may  come  in 


THE  LESSER  OF  TWO   EVILS  227 

time.  Cry  out  loudly,  like  a  soldier  and  a  gentle 
man  ! " 

With  a  furious  oath  he  stooped  and  caught  up  the 
glove  at  his  feet ;  then  snatched  out  of  my  hand  the 
sword  that  I  offered  him. 

"  Push  back  the  settle,  you  ;  it  is  in  the  way  !  "  he 
cried  to  Diccon ;  then  to  me,  in  a  voice  thick  with 
passion  :  "  Come  on,  sir !  Here  there  are  no  med 
dling  governors  ;  this  time  let  Death  throw  down  the 
warder ! " 

"  He  throws  it,"  said  the  minister  beneath  his 
breath. 

From  without  came  a  trampling  and  a  sudden  burst 
of  excited  voices.  The  next  instant  the  door  was 
burst  open,  and  a  most  villainous,  fiery-red  face  thrust 
itself  inside.  "A  ship  !  "  bawled  the  apparition,  and 
vanished.  The  clamor  increased ;  voices  cried  for  cap 
tain  and  mate,  and  more  pirates  appeared  at  the  door, 
swearing  out  the  good  news,  come  in  search  of  Kirby, 
and  giving  no  choice  but  to  go  with  them  at  once. 

"  Until  this  interruption  is  over,  sir,"  I  said  sternly, 
bowing  to  him  as  I  spoke.  "  No  longer." 

"  Be  sure,  sir,  that  to  my  impatience  the  time  will 
go  heavily,"  he  answered  as  sternly. 

We  reached  the  poop  to  find  the  fog  that  had  lain 
about  us  thick  and  white  suddenly  lifted,  and  the  hot 
sunshine  streaming  down  upon  a  rough  blue  sea.  To 
the  larboard,  a  league  away,  lay  a  low,  endless  coast  of 
sand,  as  dazzling  white  as  the  surf  that  broke  upon  it, 
and  running  back  to  a  matted  growth  of  vivid  green. 

"That  is  Florida,"  said  Paradise  at  my  elbow,  "and 
there  are  reefs  and  shoals  enough  between  us.  It 
was  Kirby 's  luck  that  the  fog  lifted.  Yonder  tall  ship 
hath  a  less  fortunate  star." 


228  TO   HAVE   AND  TO   HOLD 

She  lay  between  us  and  the  white  beach,  evidently 
in  shoal  and  dangerous  waters.  She  too  had  encoun 
tered  a  hurricane,  and  had  not  come  forth  victorious. 
Foremast  and  forecastle  were  gone,  and  her  bowsprit 
was  broken.  She  lay  heavily,  her  ports  but  a  few 
inches  above  the  water.  Though  we  did  not  know  it 
then,  most  of  her  ordnance  had  been  flung  overboard 
to  lighten  her.  Crippled  as  she  was,  with  what  sail 
she  could  set,  she  was  beating  back  to  open  sea  from 
that  dangerous  offing. 

"  Where  she  went  we  can  follow !  "  sang  out  a  voice 
from  the  throng  in  our  waist.  "  A  d — d  easy  prize  ! 
And  we  '11  give  no  quarter  this  time !  "  There  was 
a  grimness  in  the  applause  of  his  fellows  that  boded 
little  good  to  some  on  either  ship. 

"  Lord  help  all  poor  souls  this  day ! "  ejaculated 
the  minister  in  undertones;  then  aloud  and  more 
hopefully,  "  She  hath  not  the  look  of  a  don ;  maybe 
she  's  buccaneer." 

"  She  is  an  English  merchantman,"  said  Paradise. 
"  Look  at  her  colors.  A  Company  ship,  probably, 
bound  for  Virginia,  with  a  cargo  of  servants,  gentle 
men  out  at  elbows,  felons,  children  for  apprentices, 
traders,  French  vignerons,  glasswork  Italians,  return 
ing  Councilors  and  heads  of  hundreds,  with  their 
wives  and  daughters,  men  servants  and  maid  servants. 
I  made  the  Virginia  voyage  once  myself,  captain." 

I  did  not  answer.  I  too  saw  the  two  crosses,  and  I 
did  not  doubt  that  the  arms  upon  the  flag  beneath 
were  those  of  the  Company.  The  vessel,  which  was 
of  about  two  hundred  tons,  had  mightily  the  look  of 
the  George,  a  ship  with  which  we  at  Jamestown  were 
all  familiar.  Sparrow  spoke  for  me. 

"  An  English  ship  !  "  he  cried  out  of  the  simplicity 


THE  LESSER  OF  TWO  EVILS  229 

of  his  heart.  "  Then  she  's  safe  enough  for  us !  Per 
haps  we  might  speak  her  and  show  her  that  we  are 
English,  too!  Perhaps" —  He  looked  at  me  eagerly. 

"  Perhaps  you  might  be  let  to  go  off  to  her  in  one 
of  the  boats,"  finished  Paradise  dryly.  "  I  think  not, 
Master  Sparrow." 

"  It 's  other  guess  messengers  that  they  '11  send," 
muttered  Diccon.  "  They  're  uncovering  the  guns, 
sir." 

Every  man  of  those  villains,  save  one,  was  of  Eng 
lish  birth ;  every  man  knew  that  the  disabled  ship  was 
an  English  merchantman  filled  with  peaceful  folk,  but 
the  knowledge  changed  their  plans  no  whit.  There 
was  a  great  hubbub ;  cries  and  oaths  and  brutal  laugh 
ter,  the  noise  of  the  gunners  with  their  guns,  the  clang 
of  cutlass  and  pike  as  they  were  dealt  out,  but  not  a 
voice  raised  against  the  murder  that  was  to  be  done. 
I  looked  from  the  doomed  ship,  upon  which  there  was 
now  frantic  haste  and  confusion,  to  the  excited  throng 
below  me,  and  knew  that  I  had  as  well  cry  for  mercy 
to  winter  wolves. 

The  helmsman  behind  me  had  not  waited  for  orders, 
and  we  were  bearing  down  upon  the  disabled  bark. 
Ahead  of  us,  upon  our  larboard  bow,  was  a  patch  of 
lighter  green,  and  beyond  it  a  slight  hurry  and  foam 
of  the  waters.  Half  a  dozen  voices  cried  warning  to 
the  helmsman.  It  was  he  of  the  woman's  mantle, 
whom  I  had  run  through  the  shoulder  on  the  island 
off  Cape  Charles,  and  he  had  been  Kirby's  pilot  from 
Maracaibo  to  Fort  Caroline.  Now  he  answered  with 
a  burst  of  vaunting  oaths :  "  We  're  in  deep  water, 
and  there 's  deep  water  beyond.  I  've  passed  this  way 
before,  and  I  '11  carry  ye  safe  past  that  reef  were  't 
hell's  gate ! " 


230  TO  HAVE  AND   TO   HOLD 

The  desperadoes  who  heard  him  swore  applause, 
and  thought  no  more  of  the  reef  that  lay  in  wait. 
Long  since  they  had  gone  through  the  gates  of  hell 
for  the  sake  of  the  prize  beyond.  Knowing  the  appeal 
to  be  hopeless,  I  yet  made  it. 

"She  is  English,  men!"  I  shouted.  "We  will 
fight  the  Spaniards  while  they  have  a  flag  in  the 
Indies,  but  our  own  people  we  will  not  touch !  " 

The  clamor  of  shouts  and  oaths  suddenly  fell,  and 
the  wind  in  the  rigging,  the  water  at  the  keel,  the 
surf  on  the  shore,  made  themselves  heard.  In  the 
silence,  the  terror  of  the  fated  ship  became  audible. 
Confused  voices  came  to  us,  and  the  scream  of  a 
woman. 

On  the  faces  of  a  very  few  of  the  pirates  there  was 
a  look  of  momentary  doubt  and  wavering ;  it  passed, 
and  the  most  had  never  worn  it.  They  began  to  press 
forward  toward  the  poop,  cursing  and  threatening, 
working  themselves  up  into  a  rage  that  would  not 
care  for  my  sword,  the  minister's  cutlass,  or  Diccon's 
pike.  One  who  called  himself  a  wit  cried  out  some 
thing  about  Kirby  and  his  methods,  and  two  or  three 
laughed. 

"  I  find  that  the  role  of  Kirby  wearies  me,"  I  said. 
"I  am  an  English  gentleman,  and  I  will  not  fire  upon 
an  English  ship." 

As  if  in  answer  there  came  from  our  forecastle  a 
flame  and  thunder  of  guns.  The  gunners  there,  intent 
upon  their  business,  and  now  within  range  of  the  mer 
chantman,  had  fired  the  three  forecastle  culverins. 
The  shot  cut  her  rigging  and  brought  down  the  flag. 
The  pirates'  shout  of  triumph  was  echoed  by  a  cry 
from  her  decks  and  the  defiant  roar  of  her  few  re 
maining  guns. 


THE  LESSER  OF  TWO   EVILS  231 

I  drew  my  sword.  The  minister  and  Diccon  moved 
nearer  to  me,  and  the  King's  ward,  still  and  white 
and  braver  than  a  man,  stood  beside  me.  From  the 
pirates  that  we  faced  came  one  deep  breath,  like  the 
first  sigh  of  the  wind  before  the  blast  strikes.  Sud 
denly  the  Spaniard  pushed  himself  to  the  front ;  with 
his  gaunt  figure  and  sable  dress  he  had  the  seeming 
of  a  raven  come  to  croak  over  the  dead.  He  rested 
his  gloomy  eyes  upon  my  lord.  The  latter,  very  white, 
returned  the  look ;  then,  with  his  head  held  high, 
crossed  the  deck  with  a  measured  step  and  took  his 
place  among  us.  He  was  followed  a  moment  later  by 
Paradise.  "  I  never  thought  to  die  in  my  bed,  cap 
tain,"  said  the  latter  nonchalantly.  "  Sooner  or  later, 
what  does  it  matter  ?  And  you  must  know  that  be 
fore  I  was  a  pirate  I  was  a  gentleman."  Turning,  he 
doffed  his  hat  with  a  flourish  to  those  he  had  quitted. 
"  Hell  litter!  "  he  cried.  "  I  have  run  with  you  long 
enough.  Now  I  have  a  mind  to  die  an  honest  man." 

At  this  defection  a  dead  hush  of  amazement  fell 
upon  that  crew.  One  and  all  they  stared  at  the  man 
in  black  and  silver,  moistening  their  lips,  but  saying 
no  word.  We  were  five  armed  and  desperate  men ; 
they  were  fourscore.  We  might  send  many  to  death 
before  us,  but  at  the  last  we  ourselves  must  die,  —  we 
and  those  aboard  the  helpless  ship. 

In  the  moment's  respite  I  bowed  my  head  and 
whispered  to  the  King's  ward. 

"  I  had  rather  it  were  your  sword,"  she  answered 
in  a  low  voice,  in  which  there  was  neither  dread  nor 
sorrow.  "  You  must  not  let  it  grieve  you ;  it  will  be 
added  to  your  good  deeds.  And  it  is  I  that  should 
ask  your  forgiveness,  not  you  mine." 

Though  there  was  scant  time  for  such  dalliance,  I 


232  TO  HAVE  AND  TO   HOLD 

bent  my  knee  and  rested  my  forehead  upon  her  hand. 
As  I  rose,  the  minister's  hand  touched  my  shoulder 
and  the  minister's  voice  spoke  in  my  ear.  "  There  is 
another  way,"  he  said.  "  There  is  God's  death,  and 
not  man's.  Look  and  see  what  I  mean." 

I  followed  the  pointing  of  his  eyes,  and  saw  how 
close  we  were  to  those  white  and  tumbling  waters,  the 
danger  signal,  the  rattle  of  the  hidden  snake.  The 
eyes  of  the  pirate  at  the  helm,  too,  were  upon  them ; 
his  brows  were  drawn  downward,  his  lips  pressed 
together,  the  whole  man  bent  upon  the  ship's  safe 
passage.  .  .  .  The  low  thunder  of  the  surf,  the  cry 
of  a  wheeling  sea  bird,  the  gleaming  lonely  shore, 
the  cloudless  sky,  the  ocean,  and  the  white  sand  far, 
far  below,  where  one  might  sleep  well,  sleep  well, 
with  other  valiant  dead,  long  drowned,  long  changed. 
"  Of  their  bones  are  coral  made." 

The  storm  broke  with  fury  and  outcries,  and  a  blue 
radiance  of  drawn  steel.  A  pistol  ball  sang  past  my 
ear. 

"  Don't  shoot !  "  roared  the  gravedigger  to  the  man 
who  had  fired  the  shot.  "  Don't  cut  them  down ! 
Take  them  and  thrust  them  under  hatches  until  we  've 
time  to  give  them  a  slow  death !  And  hands  off  the 
woman  until  we  've  time  to  draw  lots  !  " 

He  and  the  Spaniard  led  the  rush.  I  turned  my 
head  and  nodded  to  Sparrow,  then  faced  them  again. 
"  Then  may  the  Lord  have  mercy  upon  your  souls  !  " 
I  said. 

As  I  spoke  the  minister  sprang  upon  the  helmsman, 
and,  striking  him  to  the  deck  with  one  blow  of  his 
huge  fist,  himself  seized  the  wheel.  Before  the  pirates 
could  draw  breath  he  had  jammed  the  helm  to  star 
board,  and  the  reef  lay  right  across  our  bows. 


THE  LESSER  OF  TWO   EVILS  233 

A  dreadful  cry  went  up  from  that  black  ship  to  a 
deaf  Heaven,  —  a  cry  that  was  echoed  by  a  wild  shout 
of  triumph  from  the  merchantman.  The  mass  front 
ing  us  broke  in  terror  and  rage  and  confusion.  Some 
ran  frantically  up  and  down  with  shrieks  and  curses  ; 
others  sprang  overboard.  A  few  made  a  dash  for  the 
poop  and  for  us  who  stood  to  meet  them.  They  were 
led  by  the  Spaniard  and  the  gravedigger.  The  former 
I  met  and  sent  tumbling  back  into  the  waist ;  the  lat 
ter  whirled  past  me,  and  rushing  upon  Paradise  thrust 
him  through  with  a  pike,  then  dashed  on  to  the  wheel, 
to  be  met  and  hewn  down  by  Diccon. 

The  ship  struck.  I  put  my  arm  around  my  wife, 
and  my  hand  before  her  eyes  ;  and  while  I  looked  only 
at  her,  in  that  storm  of  terrible  cries,  of  flapping  can 
vas,  rushing  water,  and  crashing  timbers,  the  Spaniard 
clambered  like  a  catamount  upon  the  poop,  that  was 
now  high  above  the  broken  forepart  of  the  ship,  and 
fired  his  pistol  at  me  point-blank. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

IN   WHICH   MY   LOKD   HATH    HIS   DAY 

I  AND  Black  Lamoral  were  leading  a  forlorn  hope. 
With  all  my  old  company  behind  us,  we  were  thun 
dering  upon  an  enemy  as  thick  as  ants,  covering  the 
face  of  the  earth.  Down  came  Black  Lamoral,  and 
the  hoofs  of  every  mad  charger  went  over  me.  For  a 
time  I  was  dead ;  then  I  lived  again,  and  was  walking 
with  the  forester's  daughter  in  the  green  chase  at 
home.  The  oaks  stretched  broad  sheltering  arms 
above  the  young  fern  and  the  little  wild  flowers,  and 
the  deer  turned  and  looked  at  us.  In  the  open  spaces, 
starring  the  lush  grass,  were  all  the  yellow  primroses 
that  ever  bloomed.  I  gathered  them  for  her,  but  when 
I  would  have  given  them  to  her  she  was  no  longer  the 
forester's  daughter,  but  a  proud  lady,  heiress  to  lands 
and  gold,  the  ward  of  the  King.  She  would  not  take 
the  primroses  from  a  poor  gentleman,  but  shook  her 
head  and  laughed  sweetly,  and  faded  into  a  waterfall 
that  leaped  from  a  pink  hill  into  a  waveless  sea.  An 
other  darkness,  and  I  was  captive  to  the  Chickahomi- 
nies,  tied  to  the  stake.  My  arm  and  shoulder  were 
on  fire,  and  Opechancanough  came  and  looked  at  me, 
with  his  dark,  still  face  and  his  burning  eyes.  The 
fierce  pain  died,  and  I  with  it,  and  I  lay  in  a  grave 
and  listened  to  the  loud  and  deep  murmur  of  the  for 
est  above.  I  lay  there  for  ages  on  ages  before  I  awoke 
to  the  fact  that  the  darkness  about  me  was  the  dark- 


IN  WHICH  MY  LORD  HATH  HIS  DAY       235 

ness  of  a  ship's  hold,  and  the  murmur  of  the  forest 
the  wash  of  the  water  alongside.  I  put  out  an  arm 
and  touched,  not  the  side  of  a  grave,  but  a  ship's  tim 
bers.  I  stretched  forth  the  other  arm,  then  dropped 
it  with  a  groan.  Some  one  bent  over  me  and  held 
water  to  my  lips.  I  drank,  and  my  senses  came  fully 
to  me.  "  Diccon  !  "  I  said. 

"  It 's  not  Diccon,"  replied  the  figure,  setting  down 
a  pitcher.  "  It  is  Jeremy  Sparrow.  Thank  God, 
you  are  yourself  again  !  " 

"Where  are  we?"  I  asked,  when  I  had  lain  and 
listened  to  the  water  a  little  longer. 

"  In  the  hold  of  the  George,"  he  answered.  "  The 
ship  sank  by  the  bows,  and  well-nigh  all  were  drowned. 
But  when  they  upon  the  George  saw  that  there  was  a 
woman  amongst  us  who  clung  to  the  poop  deck,  they 
sent  their  longboat  to  take  us  off." 

The  light  was  too  dim  for  me  to  read  his  face,  so  I 
touched  his  arm. 

"  She  was  saved,"  he  said.  "  She  is  safe  now. 
There  are  gentlewomen  aboard,  and  she  is  in  their 
care." 

I  put  my  unhurt  arm  across  my  eyes. 

"You  are  weak  yet,"  said  the  minister  gently. 
"  The  Spaniard's  ball,  you  know,  went  through  your 
shoulder,  and  in  some  way  your  arm  was  badly  torn 
from  shoulder  to  wrist.  You  have  been  out  of  your 
head  ever  since  we  were  brought  here,  three  days  ago. 
The  chirurgeon  came  and  dressed  your  wound,  and  it 
is  healing  well.  Don't  try  to  speak,  —  I  '11  tell  you 
all.  Diccon  has  been  pressed  into  service,  as  the  ship 
is  short  of  hands,  having  lost  some  by  fever  and  some 
overboard.  Four  of  the  pirates  were  picked  up,  and 
hung  at  the  yardarm  next  morning." 


236  TO   HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

He  moved  as  he  spoke,  and  something  clanked  in 
the  stillness.  "  You  are  ironed  !  "  I  exclaimed. 

"  Only  my  ankles.  My  lord  would  have  had  me 
bound  hand  and  foot ;  but  you  were  raving  for  water, 
and,  taking  you  for  a  dying  man,  they  were  so  humane 
as  to  leave  my  hands  free  to  attend  you." 

"  My  lord  would  have  had  you  bound,"  I  said  slowly. 
"  Then  it 's  my  lord's  day." 

"  High  noon  and  blazing  sunshine,"  he  answered, 
with  a  rueful  laugh.  "  It  seems  that  half  the  folk  on 
board  had  gaped  at  him  at  court.  Lord !  when  he 
put  his  foot  over  the  side  of  the  ship,  how  the  women 
screeched  and  the  men  stared !  He  's  cock  of  the 
walk  now,  my  Lord  Carnal,  the  King's  favorite  !  " 

"  And  we  are  pirates." 

"  That 's  the  case  in  a  nutshell,"  he  answered  cheer 
fully. 

"  Do  they  know  how  the  ship  came  to  strike  upon 
that  reef  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  Probably  not,  unless  madam  has  enlightened  them. 
I  did  n't  take  the  trouble,  —  they  would  n't  have  be 
lieved  me,  —  and  I  can  take  my  oath  my  lord  has  n't. 
He  was  only  our  helpless  prisoner,  you  know ;  and 
they  would  think  madam  mistaken  or  bewitched." 

"  It 's  not  a  likely  tale,"  I  said  grimly,  "  seeing  that 
we  had  already  opened  fire  upon  them." 

"  I  trust  in  heaven  the  sharks  got  the  men  who  fired 
the  culverins  !  "  he  cried,  and  then  laughed  at  his  own 
savagery. 

I  lay  still  and  tried  to  think.  "  Who  are  they  on 
board  ?  "  I  asked  at  last. 

"  I  don't  know,"  he  replied.  "  I  was  only  on  deck 
until  my  lord  had  had  his  say  in  the  poop  cabin  with 
the  master  and  a  gentleman  who  appeared  most  in 


IN  WHICH  MY  LORD  HATH  HIS  DAY       237 

authority.  Then  the  pirates  were  strung  up,  and  we 
were  bundled  down  here  in  quick  order.  But  there 
seems  to  be  more  of  quality  than  usual  aboard." 

"  You  do  not  know  where  we  are  ?  " 

"  We  lay  at  anchor  for  a  day, —  whilst  they  patched 
her  up,  I  suppose,  —  and  since  then  there  has  been 
rough  weather.  We  must  be  still  off  Florida,  and 
that  is  all  I  know.  Now  go  to  sleep.  You'll  get 
your  strength  best  so,  and  there 's  nothing  to  be  gotten 
by  waking." 

He  began  to  croon  a  many-versed  psalm.  I  slept 
and  waked,  and  slept  again,  and  was  waked  by  the 
light  of  a  torch  against  my  eyes.  The  torch  was  held 
by  a  much-betarred  seaman,  and  by  its  light  a  gentle 
man  of  a  very  meagre  aspect,  with  a  weazen  face  and 
small  black  eyes,  was  busily  examining  my  wounded 
shoulder  and  arm. 

"  It  passeth  belief,"  he  said  in  a  sing-song  voice, 
"  how  often  wounds,  with  naught  in  the  world  done 
for  them  outside  of  fair  water  and  a  clean  rag,  do  turn 
to  and  heal  out  of  sheer  perversity.  Now,  if  I  had 
been  allowed  to  treat  this  one  properly  with  scalding 
oil  and  melted  lead,  and  to  have  bled  the  patient  as 
he  should  have  been  bled,  it  is  ten  to  one  that  by  this 
time  there  would  have  been  a  pirate  the  less  in  the 
world."  He  rose  to  his  feet  with  a  highly  injured 
countenance. 

"  Then  he  's  doing  well  ?  "  asked  Sparrow. 

"  So  well  that  he  could  n't  do  better,"  replied  the 
other.  "The  arm  was  a  trifling  matter,  though  no 
doubt  exquisitely  painful.  The  wound  in  the  shoulder 
is  miraculously  healing,  without  either  blood-letting  or 
cauteries.  You  '11  have  to  hang  after  all,  my  friend." 
He  looked  at  me  with  his  little  beady  eyes.  "  It  must 


238  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

have  been  a  grand  life,"  lie  said  regretfully.  "  I  never 
expected  to  see  a  pirate  chief  in  the  flesh.  When  I 
was  a  boy,  I  used  to  dream  of  the  black  ships  and 
the  gold  and  the  fighting.  By  the  serpent  of  Escu- 
lapius,  in  my  heart  of  hearts  I  would  rather  be  such  a 
world's  thief,  uncaught,  than  Governor  of  Virginia  !  " 
He  gathered  up  the  tools  of  his  trade,  and  motioned 
to  his  torchbearer  to  go  before.  "  I  '11  have  to  report 
you  rapidly  recovering,"  he  said  warningly,  as  he 
turned  to  follow  the  light. 

"  Very  well,"  I  made  answer.  "  To  whom  am  I 
indebted  for  so  much  kindness  ?  " 

"  I  am  Dr.  John  Pott,  newly  appointed  physician 
general  to  the  colony  of  Virginia.  It  is  little  of  my 
skill  I  could  give  you,  but  that  little  I  gladly  bestow 
upon  a  real  pirate.  What  a  life  it  must  have  been  ! 
And  to  have  to  part  with  it  when  you  are  yet  young ! 
And  the  good  red  gold  and  the  rich  gems  all  at  the 
bottom  of  the  sea !  " 

He  sighed  heavily  and  went  his  way.  The  hatches 
were  closed  after  him,  and  the  minister  and  I  were 
left  in  darkness  while  the  slow  hours  dragged  them 
selves  past  us.  Through  the  chinks  of  the  hatches  a 
very  faint  light  streamed  down,  and  made  the  dark 
ness  gray  instead  of  black.  The  minister  and  I  saw 
each  other  dimly,  as  spectres.  Some  one  brought  us 
mouldy  biscuit  that  I  wanted  not,  and  water  for  which 
I  thirsted.  Sparrow  put  the  small  pitcher  to  his  lips, 
kept  it  there  a  moment,  then  held  it  to  mine.  I  drank, 
and  with  that  generous  draught  tasted  pure  bliss.  It 
was  not  until  five  minutes  later  that  I  raised  myself 
upon  my  elbow  and  turned  on  him. 

"  The  pitcher  felt  full  to  my  lips  ! "  I  exclaimed. 
"  Did  you  drink  when  you  said  you  did  ?  " 


IN  WHICH  MY  LORD  HATH  HIS  DAY       239 

He  put  out  his  great  hand  and  pushed  me  gently 
down.  "  I  have  no  wound,"  he  said,  "  and  there  was 
not  enough  for  two." 

The  light  that  trembled  through  the  cracks  above 
died  away,  and  the  darkness  became  gross.  The  air 
in  the  hold  was  stifling ;  our  souls  panted  for  the  wind 
and  the  stars  outside.  At  the  worst,  when  the  fetid 
blackness  lay  upon  our  chests  like  a  nightmare,  the 
hatch  was  suddenly  lifted,  a  rush  of  pure  air  came  to 
us,  and  with  it  the  sound  of  men's  voices  speaking  on 
the  deck  above.  Said  one,  "  True  the  doctor  pro 
nounces  him  out  of  all  danger,  yet  he  is  a  wounded 
man." 

"  He  is  a  desperate  and  dangerous  man,"  broke  in 
another  harshly.  "  I  know  not  how  you  will  answer 
to  your  Company  for  leaving  him  unironed  so  long." 

"  I  and  the  Company  understand  each  other,  my 
lord,"  rejoined  the  first  speaker,  with  some  haughti 
ness.  "  I  can  keep  my  prisoner  without  advice.  If  I 
now  order  irons  to  be  put  upon  him  and  his  accom 
plice,  it  is  because  I  see  fit  to  do  so,  and  not  because 
of  your  suggestion,  my  lord.  You  wish  to  take  this 
opportunity  to  have  speech  with  him,  —  to  that  I 
can  have  no  objection." 

The  speaker  moved  away.  As  his  footsteps  died 
in  the  distance  my  lord  laughed,  and  his  merriment 
was  echoed  by  three  or  four  harsh  voices.  Some  one 
struck  flint  against  steel,  and  there  was  a  sudden  flare 
of  torches  and  the  steadier  light  of  a  lantern.  A 
man  with  a  brutal,  weather-beaten  face  —  the  master 
of  the  ship,  we  guessed  —  came  down  the  ladder,  lan 
tern  in  hand,  turned  when  he  had  reached  the  foot, 
aud  held  up  the  lantern  to  light  my  lord  down.  I  lay 
and  watched  the  King's  favorite  as  he  descended. 


240  TO   HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

The  torches  held  slantingly  above  cast  a  fiery  light 
over  his  stately  figure  and  the  face  which  had  raised 
him  from  the  low  estate  of  a  doubtful  birth  and  a 
most  lean  purse  to  a  pinnacle  too  near  the  sun  for 
men  to  gaze  at  with  undazzled  eyes.  In  his  rich  dress 
and  the  splendor  of  his  beauty,  with  the  red  glow 
enveloping  him,  he  lit  the  darkness  like  a  baleful 
star. 

The  two  torchbearers  and  a  third  man  descended, 
closing  the  hatch  after  them.  When  all  were  down, 
my  lord,  the  master  at  his  heels,  came  and  stood  over 
me.  I  raised  myself,  though  with  difficulty,  for  the 
fever  had  left  me  weak  as  a  babe,  and  met  his  gaze. 
His  was  a  cruel  look ;  if  I  had  expected,  as  assuredly 
I  did  not  expect,  mercy  or  generosity  from  this  my 
dearest  foe,  his  look  would  have  struck  such  a  hope 
dead.  Presently  he  beckoned  to  the  men  behind  him. 
"  Put  the  manacles  upon  him  first,"  he  said,  with  a 
jerk  of  his  thumb  toward  Sparrow. 

The  man  who  had  come  down  last,  and  who  carried 
irons  enough  to  fetter  six  pirates,  started  forward  to 
do  my  lord's  bidding.  The  master  glanced  at  Spar 
row's  great  frame,  and  pulled  out  a  pistol.  The  min 
ister  laughed.  "  You  '11  not  need  it,  friend.  I  know 
when  the  odds  are  too  great."  He  held  out  his  arms, 
and  the  men  fettered  them  wrist  to  wrist.  When  they 
had  finished  he  said  calmly  :  "  '  I  have  seen  the  wicked 
in  great  power,  and  spreading  himself  like  a  green 
bay  tree.  Yet  he  passed  away,  and,  lo,  he  was  not : 
yea,  I  sought  him,  but  he  could  not  be  found.'  ' 

My  lord  turned  from  him,  and  pointed  to  me.  He 
kept  his  eyes  upon  my  face  while  they  shackled  me 
hand  and  foot ;  then  said  abruptly,  "  You  have  cords 
there :  bind  his  arms  to  his  sides."  The  men  wound 


IN  WHICH  MY  LORD   HATH  HIS   DAY       241 

the  cords  around  me  many  times.  "  Draw  them  tight," 
commanded  my  lord. 

There  came  a  wrathful  clank  of  the  minister's 
chains.  "  The  arm  is  torn  and  inflamed  from  shoulder 
to  wrist,  as  I  make  no  doubt  you  have  been  told !  "  he 
cried.  "  For  very  shame,  man !  " 

"  Draw  them  tighter,"  said  my  lord,  between  his 
teeth. 

The  men  knotted  the  cords,  and  rose  to  their  feet, 
to  be  dismissed  by  my  lord  with  a  curt  "  You  may  go." 
They  drew  back  to  the  foot  of  the  ladder,  while  the 
master  of  the  ship  went  and  perched  himself  upon  one 
of  the  rungs.  "  The  air  is  fresher  here  beneath  the 
hatch,"  he  remarked. 

As  for  me,  though  I  lay  at  my  enemy's  feet,  I  could 
yet  set  my  teeth  and  look  him  in  the  eyes.  The  cup 
was  bitter,  but  I  could  drink  it  with  an  unmoved  face. 

"  Art  paid  ?  "  he  demanded.  "  Art  paid  for  the 
tree  in  the  red  forest  without  the  haunted  wood  ?  Art 
paid,  thou  bridegroom  ?  " 

"  No,"  I  answered.  "  Bring  her  here  to  laugh  at 
me  as  she  laughed  in  the  twilight  beneath  the  guest 
house  window." 

I  thought  he  would  murder  me  with  the  poniard  he 
drew,  but  presently  he  put  it  up. 

"  She  is  come  to  her  senses,"  he  said.  "  Up  in  the 
state  cabin  are  bright  lights,  and  wine  and  laughter. 
There  are  gentlewomen  aboard,  and  I  have  been  sing 
ing  to  the  lute,  to  them  —  and  to  her.  She  is  saved 
from  the  peril  into  which  you  plunged  her  ;  she  knows 
that  the  King's  Court  of  High  Commission,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  hangman,  will  soon  snap  the  fetters 
which  she  now  shudders  to  think  of ;  that  the  King 
and  one  besides  will  condone  her  past  short  madness. 


242  TO   HAVE  AND   TO   HOLD 

Her  cheeks  are  roses,  her  eyes  are  stars.  But  now, 
when  I  pressed  her  hand  between  the  verses  of  my 
song,  she  smiled  and  sighed  and  blushed.  She  is 
again  the  dutiful  ward  of  the  King,  the  Lady  Jocelyn 
Leigh  —  she  hath  asked  to  be  so  called  "  — 

"  You  lie,"  I  said.  "  She  is  my  true  and  noble 
wife.  She  may  sit  in  the  state  cabin,  in  the  air  and 
warmth  and  light,  she  may  even  laugh  with  her  lips, 
but  her  heart  is  here  with  me  in  the  hold." 

As  I  spoke,  I  knew,  and  knew  not  how  I  knew, 
that  the  thing  which  I  had  said  was  true.  With  that 
knowledge  came  a  happiness  so  deep  and  strong  that 
it  swept  aside  like  straw  the  torment  of  those  cords, 
and  the  deeper  hurt  that  I  lay  at  his  feet.  I  sup 
pose  my  face  altered,  and  mirrored  that  blessed  glow 
about  my  heart,  for  into  his  own  came  a  white  fury, 
changing  its  beauty  into  something  inhuman  and  ter 
rifying.  He  looked  a  devil  baffled.  For  a  minute  he 
stood  there  rigid,  with  hands  clenched.  "Embrace 
her  heart,  if  thou  canst,"  he  said,  in  a  voice  so  low  that 
it  came  like  a  whisper  from  the  realm  he  might  have 
left.  "  I  shall  press  my  face  against  her  bosom." 

Another  minute  of  a  silence  that  I  disdained  to 
break ;  then  he  turned  and  went  up  the  ladder.  The 
seamen  and  the  master  followed.  The  hatch  was 
clapped  to  and  fastened,  and  we  were  left  to  the  dark 
ness  and  the  heavy  air,  and  to  a  grim  endurance  of 
what  could  not  be  cured. 

During  those  hours  of  thirst  and  torment  I  came 
indeed  to  know  the  man  who  sat  beside  me.  His  hands 
were  so  fastened  that  he  could  not  loosen  the  cords, 
and  there  was  no  water  for  him  to  give  me ;  but  he 
could  and  did  bestow  a  higher  alms,  —  the  tenderness 
of  a  brother,  the  manly  sympathy  of  a  soldier,  the  balm 


IN  WHICH  MY  LORD  HATH  HIS  DAY       243 

of  the  priest  of  God.  I  lay  in  silence,  and  he  spoke 
not  often ;  but  when  he  did  so,  there  was  that  in  the 
tone  of  his  voice  —  Another  cycle  of  pain,  and  I 
awoke  from  a  half  swoon,  in  which  there  was  water 
to  drink  and  no  anguish,  to  hear  him  praying  beside 
me.  He  ceased  to  speak,  and  in  the  darkness  I  heard 
him  draw  his  breath  hard  and  his  great  muscles  crack. 
Suddenly  there  came  a  sharp  sound  of  breaking  iron, 
and  a  low  "  Thank  Thee,  Lord !  "  Another  moment, 
and  I  felt  his  hands  busy  at  the  knotted  cords.  "  I 
will  have  them  off  thee  in  a  twinkling,  Ralph,"  he 
said,  "  thanks  to  Him  who  taught  my  hands  to  war, 
and  my  arms  to  break  in  two  a  bow  of  steel."  As  he 
spoke,  the  cords  loosened  beneath  his  fingers. 

I  raised  my  head  and  laid  it  on  his  knee,  and  he  put 
his  great  arm,  with  the  broken  chain  dangling  from 
it,  around  me,  and,  like  a  mother  with  a  babe,  crooned 
me  to  sleep  with  the  twenty-third  psalm. 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

IN   WHICH   I   AM   BROUGHT   TO   TKIAL 

MY  lord  came  not  again  into  the  hold,  and  the 
untied  cords  and  the  broken  chain  were  not  replaced. 
Morning  and  evening  we  were  brought  a  niggard  al 
lowance  of  bread  and  water  ;  but  the  man  who  carried 
it  bore  no  light,  and  may  not  even  have  observed 
their  absence.  We  saw  no  one  in  authority.  Hour 
by  hour  my  wounds  healed  and  my  strength  returned. 
If  it  was  a  dark  and  noisome  prison,  if  there  were 
hunger  and  thirst  and  inaction  to  be  endured,  if  we 
knew  not  how  near  to  us  might  be  a  death  of  igno 
miny,  yet  the  minister  and  I  found  the  jewel  in  the 
head  of  the  toad ;  for  in  that  time  of  pain  and  heavi 
ness  we  became  as  David  and  Jonathan. 

At  last  some  one  came  beside  the  brute  who  brought 
us  food.  A  quiet  gentleman,  with  whitening  hair  and 
bright  dark  eyes,  stood  before  us.  He  had  ordered 
the  two  men  with  him  to  leave  open  the  hatch,  and 
he  held  in  his  hand  a  sponge  soaked  with  vinegar. 
"  Which  of  you  is  —  or  rather  was  —  Captain  Ralph 
Percy  ?  "  he  asked,  in  a  grave  but  pleasant  voice. 

"  I  am  Captain  Percy,"  I  answered. 

He  looked  at  me  with  attention.  "  I  have  heard  of 
you  before,"  he  said.  "  I  read  the  letter  you  wrote 
to  Sir  Edwyn  Sandys,  and  thought  it  an  excellently 
conceived  and  manly  epistle.  What  magic  trans 
formed  a  gentleman  and  a  soldier  into  a  pirate  ?  " 


IN  WHICH  I  AM  BROUGHT  TO   TRIAL       245 

As  he  waited  for  me  to  speak,  I  gave  him  for 
answer,  "Necessity." 

"  A  sad  metamorphosis,"  he  said.  "  I  had  rather 
read  of  nymphs  changed  into  laurel  and  gushing 
springs.  I  am  come  to  take  you,  sir,  before  the  offi 
cers  of  the  Company  aboard  this  ship,  when,  if  you 
have  aught  to  say  for  yourself,  you  may  say  it.  I 
need  not  tell  you,  who  saw  so  clearly  some  time  ago 
the  danger  in  which  you  then  stood,  that  your  plight 
is  now  a  thousandfold  worse." 

"  I  am  perfectly  aware  of  it,"  I  said.  "  Am  I  to 
go  in  fetters  ?  " 

"  No,"  he  replied,  with  a  smile.  "  I  have  no  in 
structions  on  the  subject,  but  I  will  take  it  upon 
myself  to  free  you  from  them,  —  even  for  the  sake 
of  that  excellently  writ  letter." 

"  Is  not  this  gentleman  to  go  too?"  I  asked. 

He  shook  his  head.  "  I  have  no  orders  to  that 
effect." 

While  the  men  who  were  with  him  removed  the 
irons  from  my  wrists  and  ankles  he  stood  in  silence, 
regarding  me  with  a  scrutiny  so  close  that  it  would 
have  been  offensive  had  I  been  in  a  position  to  take 
offense.  When  they  had  finished  I  turned  and  held 
Jeremy's  hand  in  mine  for  an  instant,  then  followed 
the  new-comer  to  the  ladder  and  out  of  the  hold ;  the 
two  men  coming  after  us,  and  resolving  themselves 
above  into  a  guard.  As  we  traversed  the  main  deck 
we  came  upon  Diccon,  busy  with  two  or  three  others 
about  the  ports.  He  saw  me,  and,  dropping  the  bar 
that  he  held,  started  forward,  to  be  plucked  back  by 
an  angry  arm.  The  men  who  guarded  me  pushed  in 
between  us,  and  there  was  no  word  spoken  by  either. 
I  walked  on,  the  gentleman  at  my  side,  and  presently 


246  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

came  to  an  open  port,  and  saw,  with  an  intake  of  my 
breath,  the  sunshine,  a  dark  blue  heaven  flecked  with 
white,  and  a  quiet  ocean.  My  companion  glanced  at 
me  keenly. 

"Doubtless  it  seems  fair  enough,  after  that  Cim 
merian  darkness  below,"  he  remarked.  "  Would  you 
like  to  rest  here  a  moment  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  I  said,  and,  leaning  against  the  side  of  the 
port,  looked  out  at  the  beauty  of  the  light. 

"  We  are  off  Hatteras,"  he  informed  me,  "  but  we 
have  not  met  with  the  stormy  seas  that  vex  poor  mari 
ners  hereabouts.  Those  sails  you  see  on  our  quarter 
belong  to  our  consort.  We  were  separated  by  the 
hurricane  that  nigh  sunk  us,  and  finally  drove  us, 
helpless  as  we  were,  toward  the  Florida  coast  and 
across  your  path.  For  us  that  was  a  fortunate  reef 
upon  which  you  dashed.  The  gods  must  have  made 
your  helmsman  blind,  for  he  ran  you  into  a  destruction 
that  gaped  not  for  you.  Why  did  every  wretch  that 
we  hung  next  morning  curse  you  before  he  died  ?  " 

"  If  I  told  you,  you  would  not  believe  me,"  I 
replied. 

I  was  dizzy  with  the  bliss  of  the  air  and  the  light, 
and  it  seemed  a  small  thing  that  he  would  not  believe 
me.  The  wind  sounded  in  my  ears  like  a  harp,  and 
the  sea  beckoned.  A  white  bird  flashed  down  into 
the  crystal  hollow  between  two  waves,  hung  there  a 
second,  then  rose,  a  silver  radiance  against  the  blue. 
Suddenly  I  saw  a  river,  dark  and  ridged  beneath  thun 
derclouds,  a  boat,  and  in  it,  her  head  pillowed  upon 
her  arm,  a  woman,  who  pretended  that  she  slept. 
With  a  shock  my  senses  steadied,  and  I  became  my 
self  again.  The  sea  was  but  the  sea,  the  wind  the 
wind  ;  in  the  hold  below  me  lay  my  friend  ;  some- 


IN   WHICH   I  AM  BROUGHT  TO   TRIAL       247 

where  in  that  ship  was  my  wife  ;  and  awaiting  me  in 
the  state  cabin  were  men  who  perhaps  had  the  will,  as 
they  had  the  right  and  the  might,  to  hang  me  at  the 
yardarm  that  same  hour. 

"  I  have  had  my  fill  of  rest,"  I  said.  "  Whom  am 
I  to  stand  before  ?  " 

"The  newly  appointed  officers  of  the  Company, 
bound  in  this  ship  for  Virginia,"  he  answered.  "  The 
ship  carries  Sir  Francis  Wyatt,  the  new  Governor; 
Master  Davison,  the  Secretary  ;  young  Clayborne,  the 
surveyor  general ;  the  knight  marshal,  the  physician 
general,  and  the  Treasurer,  with  other  gentlemen, 
and  with  fair  ladies,  their  wives  and  sisters.  I  am 
George  Sandys,  the  Treasurer." 

The  blood  rushed  to  my  face,  for  it  hurt  me  that 
the  brother  of  Sir  Edwyn  Sandys  should  believe 
that  the  firing  of  those  guns  had  been  my  act.  His 
was  the  trained  observation  of  the  traveler  and  writer, 
and  he  probably  read  the  color  aright.  "  I  pity  you, 
if  I  can  no  longer  esteem  you,"  he  said,  after  a  pause. 
"  I  know  no  sorrier  sight  than  a  brave  man's  shield 
reversed." 

I  bit  my  lip  and  kept  back  the  angry  word.  The 
next  minute  saw  us  at  the  door  of  the  state  cabin.  It 
opened,  and  my  companion  entered,  and  I  after  him, 
with  my  two  guards  at  my  back.  Around  a  large 
table  were  gathered  a  number  of  gentlemen,  some 
seated,  some  standing.  There  were  but  two  among 
them  whom  I  had  seen  before,  —  the  physician  who 
had  dressed  my  wound  and  my  Lord  Carnal.  The 
latter  was  seated  in  a  great  chair,  beside  a  gentleman 
with  a  pleasant  active  face  and  light  brown  curling 
hair,  —  the  new  Governor,  as  I  guessed.  The  Trea 
surer,  nodding  to  the  two  men  to  fall  back  to  the  win- 


248  TO   HAVE   AND   TO   HOLD 

dow,  glided  to  a  seat  upon  my  lord's  other  hand,  and 
I  went  and  stood  before  the  Governor  of  Virginia. 

For  some  moments  there  was  silence  in  the  cabin, 
every  man  being  engaged  in  staring  at  me  with  all  his 
eyes  ;  then  the  Governor  spoke  :  "  It  should  be  upon 
your  knees,  sir." 

"  I  am  neither  petitioner  nor  penitent,"  I  said.  "  I 
know  no  reason  why  I  should  kneel,  your  Honor." 

44  There 's  reason,  God  wot,  why  you  should  be 
both ! "  he  exclaimed.  *'  Did  you  not,  now  some 
months  agone,  defy  the  writ  of  the  King  and  Com 
pany,  refusing  to  stand  when  called  upon  to  do  so  in 
the  King's  name  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  Did  you  not,  when  he  would  have  stayed  your 
lawless  flight,  lay  violent  hands  upon  a  nobleman 
high  in  the  King's  favor,  and,  overpowering  him  with 
numbers,  carry  him  out  of  the  King's  realm  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  Did  you  not  seduce  from  her  duty  to  the  King, 
and  force  to  fly  with  you,  his  Majesty's  ward,  the 
Lady  Jocelyn  Leigh  ?  " 

"  No,"  I  said.  "There  was  with  me  only  my  wife, 
who  chose  to  follow  the  fortunes  of  her  husband." 

He  frowned,  and  my  lord  swore  beneath  his  breath. 
"  Did  you  not,  falling  in  with  a  pirate  ship,  cast  in 
your  lot  with  the  scoundrels  upon  it,  and  yourself 
turn  pirate  ?  " 

44  In  some  sort." 

"And  become  their  shief?" 

"  Since  there  was  no  other  situation  open,  —  yes." 

14  Taking  with  you  as  captives  upon  the  pirate  ship 
that  lady  and  that  nobleman  ?  " 

"  Yes." 


IN  WHICH  I  AM  BROUGHT  TO  TRIAL       249 

"You  proceeded  to  ravage  the  dominions  of  the 
King  of  Spain,  with  whom  his  Majesty  is  at  peace  "  — 

"  Like  Drake  and  Raleigh,  —  yes,"  I  said. 

He  smiled,  then  frowned.  "  Tempora  mutantur," 
he  said  dryly.  "  And  I  have  never  heard  that  Drake 
or  Raleigh  attacked  an  English  ship." 

"  Nor  have  I  attacked  one,"  I  said. 

He  leaned  back  in  his  chair  and  stared  at  me. 
"  We  saw  the  flame  and  heard  the  thunder  of  your 
guns,  and  our  rigging  was  cut  by  the  shot.  Did  you 
expect  me  to  believe  that  last  assertion  ?  " 

"  No." 

"  Then  you  might  have  spared  yourself  —  and  us 

—  that  lie,"  he  said  coldly. 

The  Treasurer  moved  restlessly  in  his  seat,  and 
began  to  whisper  to  his  neighbor  the  Secretary.  A 
young  man,  with  the  eyes  of  a  hawk  and  an  iron  jaw, 

—  Clayborne,  the  surveyor  general,  —  who  sat  at  the 
end  of  the  table  beside  the  window,  turned  and  gazed 
out  upon   the   clouds   and   the  sea,  as  if,   contempt 
having  taken  the  place  of  curiosity,  he  had  no  further 
interest  in  the  proceedings.      As  for  me,  I  set  my 
face  like  a  flint,  and  looked  past  the  man  who  might 
have  saved  me  that  last  speech  of  the  Governor's  as 
if  he  had  never  been. 

There  was  a  closed  door  in  the  cabin,  opposite  the 
one  by  which  I  had  entered.  Suddenly  from  behind 
it  came  the  sound  of  a  short  struggle,  followed  by  the 
quick  turn  of  a  key  in  the  lock.  The  door  was  flung 
open,  and  two  women  entered  the  cabin.  One,  a  fair 
young  gentlewoman,  with  tears  in  her  brown  eyes, 
came  forward  hurriedly  with  outspread  hands. 

"  I  did  what  I  could,  Frank  !  "  she  cried.  "  When 
she  would  not  listen  to  reason,  I  e'en  locked  the  door  ; 


250  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

but  she  is  strong,  for  all  that  she  has  been  ill,  and  she 
forced  the  key  out  of  my  hand  !  "  She  looked  at  the 
red  mark  upon  the  white  hand,  and  two  tears  fell  from 
her  long  lashes  upon  her  wild-rose  cheeks. 

With  a  smile  the  Governor  put  out  an  arm  and 
drew  her  down  upon  a  stool  beside  him,  then  rose  and 
bowed  low  to  the  King's  ward.  "  You  are  not  yet 
well  enough  to  leave  your  cabin,  as  our  worthy  physi 
cian  general  will  assure  you,  lady,"  he  said  courteously, 
but  firmly7.  "  Permit  me  to  lead  you  back  to  it." 

Still  smiling  he  made  as  if  to  advance,  when  she 
stayed  him  with  a  gesture  of  her  raised  hand,  at  once 
so  majestic  and  so  pleading  that  it  was  as  though  a 
strain  of  music  had  passed  through  the  stillness  of 
the  cabin. 

"  Sir  Francis  Wyatt,  as  you  are  a  gentleman,  let 
me  speak,"  she  said.  It  was  the  voice  of  that  first 
night  at  Weyanoke,  all  pathos,  all  sweetness,  all  en 
treating. 

The  Governor  stopped  short,  the  smile  still  upon 
his  lips,  his  hand  still  outstretched,  —  stood  thus  for 
a  moment,  then  sat  down.  Around  the  half  circle  of 
gentlemen  went  a  little  rustling  sound,  like  wind  in 
dead  leaves.  My  lord  half  rose  from  his  seat.  "  She 
is  bewitched,"  he  said,  with  dry  lips.  "  She  will  say 
what  she  has  been  told  to  say.  Lest  she  speak  to  her 
shame,  we  should  refuse  to  hear  her." 

She  had  been  standing  in  the  centre  of  the  floor, 
her  hands  clasped,  her  body  bowed  toward  the  Gov 
ernor,  but  at  my  lord's  words  she  straightened  like  a 
bow  unbent.  "  I  may  speak,  your  Honor  ?  "  she  asked 
clearly. 

The  Governor,  who  had  looked  askance  at  the 
working  face  of  the  man  beside  him,  slightly  bent  his 


"SIT  DOWN,  MY  LORD" 


IN  WHICH  I  AM  BROUGHT  TO   TRIAL      251 

head  and  leaned  back  in  his  great  armchair.  The 
King's  favorite  started  to  his  feet.  The  King's  ward 
turned  her  eyes  upon  him.  "  Sit  down,  my  lord," 
she  said.  "Surely  these  gentlemen  will  think  that 
you  are  afraid  of  what  I,  a  poor  erring  woman,  rebel 
lious  to  the  King,  traitress  to  mine  own  honor,  late 
the  plaything  of  a  pirate  ship,  may  say  or  do.  Truth, 
my  lord,  should  be  more  courageous."  Her  voice 
was  gentle,  even  plaintive,  but  it  had  in  it  the  quality 
that  lurks  in  the  eyes  of  the  crouching  panther. 

My  lord  sat  down,  one  hand  hiding  his  working 
mouth,  the  other  clenched  on  the  arm  of  his  chair  aa 
if  it  had  been  an  arm  of  flesh. 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

IN   WHICH   I   FIND   AN   ADVOCATE 

SHE  came  slowly  nearer  the  ring  of  now  very  quiet 
and  attentive  faces  until  she  stood  beside  me,  but  she 
neither  looked  at  me  nor  spoke  to  me.  She  was  thin 
ner  and  there  were  heavy  shadows  beneath  her  eyes, 
but  she  was  beautiful. 

"  I  stand  before  gentlemen  to  whom,  perhaps,  I  am 
not  utterly  unknown,"  she  said.  "  Some  here,  per 
chance,  have  been  to  court,  and  have  seen  me  there. 
Master  Sandys,  once,  before  the  Queen  died,  you 
came  to  Greenwich  to  kiss  her  Majesty's  hands ;  and 
while  you  waited  in  her  antechamber  you  saw  a  young 
maid  of  honor  —  scarce  more  than  a  child  —  curled  in 
a  window  seat  with  a  book.  You  sat  beside  her,  and 
told  her  wonderful  tales  of  sunny  lands  and  gods  and 
nymphs.  I  was  that  maid  of  honor.  Master  Clay- 
borne,  once,  hawking  near  Windsor,  I  dropped  my 
glove.  There  were  a  many  out  of  their  saddles  before 
it  touched  the  ground,  but  a  gentleman,  not  of  our 
party,  who  had  drawn  his  horse  to  one  side  to  let  us 
pass,  was  quicker  than  they  all.  Did  you  not  think 
yourself  well  paid,  sir,  when  you  kissed  the  hand  to 
which  you  restored  the  glove?  All  here,  I  think, 
may  have  heard  my  name.  If  any  hath  heard  aught 
that  ever  I  did  in  all  my  life  to  tarnish  it,  I  pray  him 
to  speak  now  and  shame  me  before  you  all !  " 

Clayborne  started  up.     "I  remember  that  day  at 


IN  WHICH  I  FIND   AN   ADVOCATE          253 

Windsor,  lady!"  he  cried.  "The  man  of  whom  I 
afterward  asked  your  name  was  a  most  libertine  cour 
tier,  and  he  raised  his  hat  when  he  spoke  of  you,  call 
ing  you  a  lily  which  the  mire  of  the  court  could  not 
besmirch.  I  will  believe  all  good,  but  no  harm  of 
you,  lady ! " 

He  sat  down,  and  Master  Sandys  said  gravely: 
"  Men  need  not  be  courtiers  to  have  known  of  a  lady 
of  great  wealth  and  high  birth,  a  ward  of  the  King's, 
and  both  beautiful  and  pure.  I  nor  no  man  else,  I 
think,  ever  heard  aught  of  the  Lady  Jocelyn  Leigh 
but  what  became  a  daughter  of  her  line." 

A  murmur  of  assent  went  round  the  circle.  The 
Governor,  leaning  forward  from  his  seat,  his  wife's 
hand  in  his,  gravely  bent  his  head.  "All  this  is 
known,  lady,"  he  said  courteously. 

She  did  not  answer ;  her  eyes  were  upon  the  King's 
favorite,  and  the  circle  waited  with  her. 

"  It  is  known,"  said  my  lord. 

She  smiled  proudly.  "•  For  so  much  grace,  thanks, 
my  lord,"  she  said,  then  addressed  herself  again  to 
the  Governor :  "  Your  Honor,  that  is  the  past,  the 
long  past,  the  long,  long  past,  though  not  a  year  has 
gone  by.  Then  I  was  a  girl,  proud  and  careless; 
now,  your  Honor,  I  am  a  woman,  and  I  stand  here  in 
the  dignity  of  suffering  and  peril.  I  fled  from  Eng 
land  "  —  She  paused,  drew  herself  up,  and  turned 
upon  my  lord  a  face  and  form  so  still,  and  yet  so 
expressive  of  noble  indignation,  outraged  womanhood, 
scorn,  and  withal  a  kind  of  angry  pity,  that  small 
wonder  if  he  shrank  as  from  a  blow.  "  I  left  the  only 
world  I  knew,"  she  said.  "  I  took  a  way  low  and 
narrow  and  dark  and  set  with  thorns,  but  the  only 
way  that  I  —  alone  and  helpless  and  bewildered  — • 


254  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

could  find,  because  that  I,  Jocelyn  Leigh,  willed  not 
to  wed  with  you,  my  Lord  Carnal.  Why  did  you 
follow  me,  my  lord  ?  You  knew  that  I  loved  you  not. 
You  knew  my  mind,  and  that  I  was  weak  and  friend 
less,  and  you  used  your  power.  I  must  tell  you,  my 
lord,  that  you  were  not  chivalrous,  nor  compassionate, 
nor  brave  "  — 

"  I  loved  you  !  "  he  cried,  and  stretched  out  his  arm 
toward  her  across  the  table.  He  saw  no  one  but  her, 
spoke  to  none  but  her.  There  was  a  fierce  yearning 
and  a  hopelessness  in  his  voice  and  bent  head  and 
outstretched  arm  that  lent  for  the  time  a  tragic  dig 
nity  to  the  pageant,  evil  and  magnificent,  of  his  life. 

"  You  loved  me,"  she  said.  "  I  had  rather  you  had 
hated  me,  my  lord.  I  came  to  Virginia,  your  Honor, 
and  men  thought  me  the  thing  I  professed  myself. 
In  the  green  meadow  beyond  the  church  they  wooed 
me  as  such.  This  one  came  and  that  one,  and  at  last 
a  fellow,  when  I  said  him  nay  and  bade  him  begone, 
did  dare  to  seize  my  hands  and  kiss  my  lips.  While 
I  struggled  one  came  and  flung  that  dastard  out  of 
the  way,  then  asked  me  plainly  to  become  his  wife, 
and  there  was  no  laugh  or  insult  in  his  voice.  I 
was  wearied  and  fordone  and  desperate.  ...  So  I 
met  my  husband,  and  so  I  married  him.  That  same 
day  I  told  him  a  part  of  my  secret,  and  when  my 
Lord  Carnal  was  come  I  told  him  all.  ...  I  had  not 
met  with  much  true  love  or  courtesy  or  compassion  in 
my  life.  When  I  saw  the  danger  in  which  he  stood 
because  of  me,  I  told  him  he  might  free  himself  from 
that  coil,  might  swear  to  what  they  pleased,  whistle 
me  off,  save  himself,  and  I  would  say  no  word  of 
blame.  There  was  wine  upon  the  table,  and  he  filled 
a  cup  and  brought  it  to  me,  and  we  drank  of  it 


IN  WHICH  I  FIND  AN   ADVOCATE  255 

together.  We  drank  of  the  same  cup  then,  your 
Honor,  and  we  will  drink  of  it  still.  We  twain  were 
wedded,  and  the  world  strove  to  part  us.  Which  of 
you  here,  in  such  quarrel,  would  not  withstand  the 
world?  Lady  Wyatt,  would  not  thy  husband  hold 
thee,  while  he  lived,  against  the  world  ?  Then  speak 
for  mine !  " 

"  Frank,  Frank !  "  cried  Lady  Wyatt.  "  They  love 
each  other !  " 

"  If  he  withstood  the  King,"  went  on  the  King's 
ward,  "  it  was  for  his  honor  and  for  mine.  If  he  fled 
from  Virginia,  it  was  because  I  willed  it  so.  Had  he 
stayed,  my  Lord  Carnal,  and  had  you  willed  to  follow 
me  again,  you  must  have  made  a  yet  longer  journey 
to  a  most  distant  bourne.  That  wild  night  when  we 
fled,  why  did  you  come  upon  us,  my  lord  ?  The  moon 
burst  forth  from  a  black  cloud,  and  you  stood  there 
upon  the  wharf  above  us,  calling  to  the  footsteps  be 
hind  to  hasten.  We  would  have  left  you  there  in 
safety,  and  gone  ourselves  alone  down  that  stream  as 
black  and  strange  as  death.  Why  did  you  spring 
down  the  steps  and  grapple  with  the  minister?  And 
he  that  might  have  thrust  you  beneath  the  flood  and 
drowned  you  there  did  but  fling  you  into  the  boat. 
We.  wished  not  your  company,  my  lord ;  we  would 
willingly  have  gone  without  yon.  I  trust,  my  lord, 
you  have  made  honest  report  of  this  matter,  and  have 
told  these  gentlemen  that  my  husband  gave  you,  a 
prisoner  whom  he  wanted  not,  all  fair  and  honorable 
treatment.  That  you  have  done  this  I  dare  take  my 
oath,  my  lord"  — 

She  stood  silent,  her  eyes  upon  his.  The  men 
around  stirred,  and  a  little  flash  like  the  glint  of 
drawn  steel  went  from  one  pair  of  eyes  to  another. 


266  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

"  My  lord,  my  lord !  "  said  the  King's  ward.  "  Long 
ago  you  won  my  hatred  ;  an  you  would  not  win  my 
contempt,  speak  truth  this  day !  " 

In  his  eyes,  which  he  had  never  taken  from  her 
face,  there  leaped  to  meet  the  proud  appeal  in  her 
own  a  strange  fire.  That  he  loved  her  with  a  great 
and  evil  passion,  I,  who  needs  had  watched  him  closely, 
had  long  known.  Suddenly  he  burst  into  jarring 
laughter.  "  Yea,  he  treated  me  fairly  enough,  damn 
him  to  everlasting  hell !  But  he  's  a  pirate,  sweet 
bird ;  he  's  a  pirate,  and  must  swing  as  such !  " 

"  A  pirate  !  "  she  cried.  "  But  he  was  none !  My 
lord,  you  know  he  was  none  !  Your  Honor  "  — 

The  Governor  interrupted  her :  "  Pie  made  him 
self  captain  of  a  pirate  ship,  lady.  He  took  and  sunk 
ships  of  Spain." 

44  In  what  sort  did  he  become  their  chief  ? "  she 
cried.  44  In  such  sort,  gentlemen,  as  the  bravest  of 
you,  in  like  straits,  would  have  been  blithe  to  be,  an 
you  had  had  like  measure  of  wit  and  daring !  Your 
Honor,  the  wind  before  which  our  boat  drave  like  a 
leaf,  the  waves  that  would  engulf  us,  wrecked  us  upon 
a  desert  isle.  There  was  no  food  or  water  or  shelter. 
That  night,  while  we  slept,  a  pirate  ship  anchored  off 
the  beach,  and  in  the  morning  the  pirates  came  ashore 
to  bury  their  captain.  My  husband  met  them  alone, 
fought  their  would-be  leaders  one  by  one,  and  forced 
the  election  to  fall  upon  himself.  Well  he  knew  that 
if  he  left  not  that  isle  their  leader,  he  would  leave  it 
their  captive  ;  and  not  he  alone  !  God's  mercy,  gen 
tlemen,  what  other  could  he  do  ?  I  pray  you  to  hold 
him  absolved  from  a  willing  embrace  of  that  life ! 
Sunk  ships  of  Spain  !  Yea,  forsooth  ;  and  how  long 
hath  it  been  since  other  English  gentlemen  sunK  other 


IN   WHICH  I  FIND  AN  ADVOCATE          257 

ships  of  Spain  ?  The  world  hath  changed  indeed  if 
to  fight  the  Spaniard  in  the  Indies,  e'en  though  at 
home  we  be  at  peace  with  him,  be  conceived  so  black 
a  crime  !  He  fought  their  galleons  fair  and  knightly, 
with  his  life  in  his  hand ;  he  gave  quarter,  and  while 
they  called  him  chief  those  pirates  tortured  no  pris 
oner  and  wronged  no  woman.  Had  he  not  been 
there,  would  the  ships  have  been  taken  less  surely  ? 
Had  he  not  been  there,  God  wot,  ships  and  ships' 
boats  alike  would  have  sunk  or  burned,  and  no  Span 
ish  men  and  women  had  rowed  away  and  blessed  a 
generous  foe.  A  pirate !  He,  with  me  and  with  the 
minister  and  with  my  Lord  Carnal,  was  prisoner  to 
the  pirates,  and  out  of  that  danger  he  plucked  safety 
for  us  all !  Who  hath  so  misnamed  a  gallant  gentle 
man  ?  Was  it  you,  my  lord  ?  " 

Eyes  and  voice  were  imperious,  and  in  her  cheeks 
burned  an  indignant  crimson.  My  lord's  face  was  set 
and  white ;  he  looked  at  her,  but  spoke  no  word. 

"The  Spanish  ships  might  pass,  lady,"  said  the 
Governor ;  "  but  this  is  an  English  ship,  with  the 
flag  of  England  above  her." 

"  Yea,"  she  said.     "  What  then  ?  " 

The  circle  rustled  again.  The  Governor  loosed  his 
wife's  fingers  and  leaned  forward.  "  You  plead  well, 
lady!  "  he  exclaimed.  "You  might  win,  an  Captain 
Percy  had  not  seen  fit  to  fire  upon  us." 

A  dead  silence  followed  his  words.  Outside  the 
square  window  a  cloud  passed  from  the  face  of  the 
sun,  and  a  great  burst  of  sunshine  entered  the  cabin. 
She  stood  in  the  heart  of  it,  and  looked  a  goddess 
angered.  My  lord,  with  his  haggard  face  and  burn 
ing  eyes,  slowly  rose  from  his  seat,  and  they  faced 
each  other. 


258  TO   HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

"You  told  them  not  who  fired  those  guns,  who 
sunk  that  pirate  ship  ?  "  she  said.  "  Because  he  was 
your  enemy,  you  held  your  tongue?  Knight  and 
gentleman  —  my  Lord  Carnal  —  my  Lord  Coward  1  " 

"Honor  is  an  empty  word  to  me,"  he  answered. 
"For  you  I  would  dive  into  the  deepest  hell,  —  if 
there  be  a  deeper  than  that  which  burns  me,  day  in, 
day  out.  .  .  .  Jocelyn,  Jocelyn,  Jocelyn  ! " 

"  You  love  me  so  ?  "  she  said.  "  Then  do  me  plea 
sure.  Because  I  ask  it  of  you,  tell  these  men  the 
truth."  She  came  a  step  nearer,  and  held  out  her 
clasped  hands  to  him.  "  Tell  them  how  it  was,  my 
lord,  and  I  will  strive  to  hate  you  no  longer.  The 
harm  that  you  have  done  me  I  will  pray  for  strength 
to  forgive.  Ah,  my  lord,  let  me  not  ask  in  vain  ! 
Will  you  that  I  kneel  to  you?" 

"  I  fix  my  own  price,"  he  said.  "  I  will  do  what 
you  ask,  an  you  will  let  me  kiss  your  lips." 

I  sprang  forward  with  an  oath.  Some  one  behind 
caught  both  my  wrists  in  an  iron  grasp  and  pulled  me 
back.  "  Be  not  a  fool !  "  growled  Clayborne  in  my 
ear.  "  The  cord  's  loosening  fast :  if  you  interfere,  it 
may  tighten  with  a  jerk !  "  I  freed  my  hands  from 
his  grasp.  The  Treasurer,  sitting  next  him,  leaned 
across  the  table  and  motioned  to  the  two  seamen  be 
side  the  window.  They  left  their  station,  and  each 
seized  me  by  an  arm.  "  Be  guided,  Captain  Percy," 
said  Master  Sandys  in  a  low  voice.  "  We  wish  you 
well.  Let  her  win  you  through." 

"First  tell  the  truth,  my  lord,"  said  the  King's 
ward  ;  "  then  come  and  take  the  reward  you  ask." 

"  Jocelyn !  "  I  cried.     "  I  command  you  "  — 

She  turned  upon  me  a  perfectly  colorless  face.  "  All 
my  life  after  I  will  be  to  you  an  obedient  wife,"  she 


IN   WHICH  I  FIND   AN  ADVOCATE          259 

said.  "  This  once  I  pray  you  to  hold  me  excused.  .  .  . 
Speak,  my  lord." 

There  was  the  mirth  of  the  lost  in  the  laugh  with 
which  he  turned  to  the  Governor.  "  That  pretty  little 
tale,  sir,  that  I  regaled  you  with,  the  day  you  obligingly 
picked  me  up,  was  pure  imagination  ;  the  wetting  must 
have  disordered  my  reason.  A  potion  sweeter  than 
the  honey  of  Hybla,  which  I  am  about  to  drink,  hath 
restored  me  beforehand.  Gentlemen  all,  there  was 
mutiny  aboard  that  ship  which  so  providentially  sank 
before  your  very  eyes.  For  why  ?  The  crew,  who 
were  pirates,  and  the  captain,  who  was  yonder  gentle 
man,  did  not  agree.  The  one  wished  to  attack  you, 
board  you,  rummage  you,  and  slay,  after  recondite 
fashions,  every  mother's  son  of  you  ;  the  other  de 
murred,  —  so  strongly,  in  fact,  that  his  life  ceased  to  be 
worth  a  pin's  purchase.  Indeed,  I  believe  he  resigned 
his  captaincy  then  and  there,  and,  declining  to  lift  a 
finger  against  an  English  ship,  defied  them  to  do  their 
worst.  He  had  no  hand  in  the  firing  of  those  cul- 
verins ;  the  mutineers  touched  them  off  without  so 
much  as  a  '  by  your  leave.'  His  attention  was  other 
wise  occupied.  Good  sirs,  there  was  not  the  slight 
est  reason  in  nature  why  the  ship  should  have  struck 
upon  that  sunken  reef,  to  the  damnation  of  her  people 
and  the  salvation  of  yours.  Why  do  you  suppose  she 
diverged  from  the  path  of  safety  to  split  into  slivers 
against  that  fortunate  ledge  ?  " 

The  men  around  drew  in  their  breath,  and  one  or 
two  sprang  to  their  feet.  My  lord  laughed  again. 
"  Have  you  seen  the  pious  man  who  left  Jamestown 
and  went  aboard  the  pirate  ship  as  this  gentleman's 
lieutenant  ?  He  hath  the  strength  of  a  bull.  Captain 
Percy  here  had  but  to  nod  his  head,  and  hey,  presto ! 


260  TO  HAVE   AND  TO  HOLD 

the  helmsman  was  bowled  over,  and  the  minister  had 
the  helm.  The  ship  struck  :  the  pirates  went  to  hell, 
and  you,  gentlemen,  were  preserved  to  order  all  things 
well  in  Virginia.  May  she  long  be  grateful !  The 
man  who  dared  that  death  rather  than  attack  the  ship 
he  guessed  to  be  the  Company's  is  my  mortal  foe, 
whom  I  will  yet  sweep  from  my  path,  but  he  is  not  a 
pirate.  Ay,  take  it  down,  an  it  please  you,  Master 
Secretary  !  I  retreat  from  a  most  choice  position,  to 
be  sure,  but  what  care  I  ?  I  see  a  vantage  ground 
more  to  my  liking.  I  have  lost  a  throw,  perhaps,  but 
I  will  recoup  ten  such  losses  with  one  such  kiss.  By 
your  leave,  lady." 

He  went  up  to  her  where  she  stood,  with  hanging 
arms,  her  head  a  little  bent,  white  and  cold  and  yield 
ing  as  a  lady  done  in  snow ;  gazed  at  her  a  moment, 
with  his  passion  written  in  his  fierce  eyes  and  hag 
gard,  handsome  face  ;  then  crushed  her  to  him. 

If  I  could  have  struck  him  dead,  I  would  have  done 
so.  When  her  word  had  been  kept,  she  released  her 
self  with  a  quiet  and  resolute  dignity.  As  for  him,  he 
sank  back  into  the  great  chair  beside  the  Governor's, 
leaned  an  elbow  on  the  table,  and  hid  his  eyes  with 
one  shaking  hand. 

The  Governor  rose  to  his  feet,  and  motioned  away 
the  two  seamen  who  held  me  fast.  "  We  '11  have  no 
hanging  this  morning,  gentlemen,"  he  announced. 
*4  Captain  Percy,  I  beg  to  apologize  to  you  for  words 
that  were  never  meant  for  a  brave  and  gallant  gen 
tleman,  but  for  a  pirate  who  I  find  does  not  exist.  I 
pray  you  to  forget  them,  quite." 

I  returned  his  bow,  but  my  eyes  traveled  past 
him. 

"  I  will  allow  you  no  words  with  my  Lord  Carnal," 


IN   WHICH  I  FIND   AN  ADVOCATE  261 

he  said.  "  With  your  wife,  —  that  is  different."  He 
moved  aside  with  a  smile. 

She  was  standing,  pale,  with  downcast  eyes,  where 
my  lord  had  left  her.  "  Jocelyn,"  I  said.  She  turned 
toward  me,  crimsoned  deeply,  uttered  a  low  cry,  half 
laughter,  half  a  sob,  then  covered  her  face  with  her 
hands.  I  took  them  away  and  spoke  her  name  again, 
and  this  time  she  hid  her  face  upon  my  breast. 

A  moment  thus ;  then  —  for  all  eyes  were  upon  her 
—  I  lifted  her  head,  kissed  her,  and  gave  her  to  Lady 
Wyatt,  whom  I  found  at  my  side.  "  I  commend  my 
wife  to  your  ladyship's  care,"  I  said.  "As  you  are 
woman,  deal  sisterly  by  her  !  " 

"  You  may  trust  me,  sir,"  she  made  answer,  the 
tears  upon  her  cheeks.  "  I  did  not  know,  —  I  did  not 
understand.  .  .  .  Dear  heart,  come  away,  —  come 
away  with  Margaret  Wyatt." 

Clayborne  opened  the  door  of  the  cabin,  and  stood 
aside  with  a  low  bow.  The  men  who  had  sat  to  judge 
me  rose  ;  only  the  King's  favorite  kept  his  seat.  With 
Lady  Wyatt's  arm  about  her,  the  King's  ward  passed 
between  the  lines  of  standing  gentlemen  to  the  door, 
there  hesitated,  turned,  and,  facing  them  with  I  know 
not  what  of  pride  and  shame,  wistfulness  of  entreaty 
and  noble  challenge  to  belief  in  the  face  and  form  that 
were  of  all  women's  most  beautiful,  curtsied  to  them 
until  her  knee  touched  the  floor.  She  was  gone,  and 
the  sunlight  with  her. 

When  I  turned  upon  that  shameless  lord  where  he 
sat  in  his  evil  beauty,  with  his  honor  dead  before  him, 
men  came  hastily  in  between.  I  put  them  aside  with 
a  laugh.  I  had  but  wanted  to  look  at  him.  I  had  no 
sword,  —  already  he  lay  beneath  my  challenge,  —  and 
words  are  weak  thing's. 


262  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

At  length  he  rose,  as  arrogant  as  ever  in  his  port, 
as  evilly  superb  in  his  towering  pride,  and  as  amaz 
ingly  indifferent  to  the  thoughts  of  men  who  lied  not. 
"  This  case  hath  wearied  me,"  he  said.  "  I  will  retire 
for  a  while  to  rest,  and  in  dreams  to  live  over  a  past 
sweetness.  Give  you  good-day,  gentles  !  Sir  Francis 
Wyatt,  you  will  remember  that  this  gentleman  did 
resist  arrest,  and  that  he  lieth  under  the  King's  dis 
pleasure  !  "  So  saying  he  clapped  his  hat  upon  his 
head  and  walked  out  of  the  cabin.  The  Company's 
officers  drew  a  long  breath,  as  if  a  fresher  air  had 
come  in  with  his  departure. 

"  I  have  no  choice,  Captain  Percy,  but  to  keep  you 
still  under  restraint,  both  here  and  when  we  shall 
reach  Jamestown,"  said  the  Governor.  "  All  that  the 
Company,  through  me,  can  do,  consistent  with  its  duty 
to  his  Majesty,  to  lighten  your  confinement  shall  be 
done  "  — 

"  Then  send  him  not  again  into  the  hold,  Sir 
Francis  !  "  exclaimed  the  Treasurer,  with  a  wry  face. 

The  Governor  laughed.  "Lighter  and  sweeter 
quarters  shall  be  found.  Your  wife  's  a  brave  lady, 
Captain  Percy  "  — 

"And  a  passing  fair  one,"  said  Clayborne  under 
his  breath. 

"  I  left  a  friend  below  in  the  hold,  your  Honor,"  I 
said.  "  He  came  with  me  from  Jamestown  because 
he  was  my  friend.  The  King  hath  never  heard  of 
him.  And  he  's  no  more  a  pirate  than  I  or  you,  your 
Honor.  He  is  a  minister,  —  a  sober,  meek,  and  godly 
man  "  — 

From  behind  the  Secretary  rose  the  singsong  of 
my  acquaintance  of  the  hold,  Dr.  John  Pott.  "  He 
is  Jeremy,  your  Honor,  Jeremy  who  made  the  town 


IN  WHICH  I  FIND   AN   ADVOCATE  263 

merry  at  Blackfriars.  Your  Honor  remembers  him  ? 
He  had  a  sickness,  and  forsook  the  life  and  went  into 
the  country.  He  was  known  to  the  Dean  of  St. 
Paul's.  All  the  town  laughed  when  it  heard  that  he 
had  taken  orders." 

"  Jeremy  !  "  cried  out  the  Treasurer.  "  Nick  Bot 
tom  !  Christopher  Sly  !  Sir  Toby  Belch !  Sir  Francis, 
give  me  Jeremy  to  keep  in  my  cabin ! " 

The  Governor  laughed.  "  He  shall  be  bestowed 
with  Captain  Percy  where  he  '11  not  lack  for  company, 
I  warrant!  Jeremy!  Ben  Jonson  loved  him;  they 
drank  together  at  the  Mermaid." 

A  little  later  the  Treasurer  turned  to  leave  my  new 
quarters,  to  which  he  had  walked  beside  me,  glanced 
at  the  men  who  waited  for  him  without,  —  Jeremy 
had  not  yet  been  brought  from  the  hold,  —  and  re 
turned  to  my  side  to  say,  in  a  low  voice,  but  with 
emphasis :  "  Captain  Percy  has  been  a  long  time  with 
out  news  from  home,  —  from  England.  What  would 
he  most  desire  to  hear  ?  " 

"  Of  the  welfare  of  his  Grace  of  Buckingham,"  I 
replied. 

He  smiled.  "  His  Grace  is  as  well  as  heart  could 
desire,  and  as  powerful.  The  Queen's  dog  now  tug- 
g-eth  the  sow  by  the  ears  this  way  or  that,  as  it  pleas- 
eth  him.  Since  we  are  not  to  hang  you  as  a  pirate, 
Captain  Percy,  I  incline  to  think  your  affairs  in  better 
posture  than  when  you  left  Virginia." 

"I  think  so  too,  sir,"  I  said,  and  gave  him  thanks 
for  his  courtesy,  and  wished  him  good-day,  being 
anxious  to  sit  still  and  thank  God,  with  my  face  in 
my  hands  and  summer  in  my  heart. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII 

IN   WHICH   THE    SPRINGTIME   IS   AT   HAND 

TIRED  of  dicing  against  myself,  and  of  the  books 
that  Rolfe  had  sent  me,  I  betook  myself  to  the  gaol 
window,  and,  leaning  against  the  bars,  looked  out  in 
search  of  entertainment.  The  nearest  if  not  the  mer 
riest  thing  the  prospect  had  to  offer  was  the  pillory. 
It  was  built  so  tall  that  it  was  but  little  lower  than 
the  low  upper  story  of  the  gaol,  and  it  faced  my  window 
at  so  short  a  distance  that  I  could  hear  the  long,  whis 
tling  breath  of  the  wretch  who  happened  to  occupy  it. 
It  was  not  a  pleasant  sound ;  neither  was  a  livid  face, 
new  branded  on  the  cheek  with  a  great  R,  and  with  a 
trickle  of  dark  blood  from  the  mutilated  ears  staining 
the  board  in  which  the  head  was  immovably  fixed,  a 
pleasant  sight.  A  little  to  one  side  was  the  whipping 
post :  a  woman  had  been  whipped  that  morning,  and 
her  cries  had  tainted  the  air  even  more  effectually 
than  had  the  decayed  matter  with  which  certain  small 
devils  had  pelted  the  runaway  in  the  pillory.  I  looked 
away  from  the  poor  rogue  below  me  into  the  clear,  hard 
brightness  of  the  March  day,  and  was  most  heartily 
weary  of  the  bars  between  me  and  it.  The  wind  blew 
keenly ;  the  sky  was  blue  as  blue  could  be,  and  the 
river  a  great  ribbon  of  azure  sewn  with  diamonds. 
All  colors  were  vivid  and  all  distances  near.  There 
was  no  haze  over  the  forest ;  brown  and  bare  it  struck 
the  cloudless  blue.  The  marsh  was  emerald,  the  green 


THE  SPRINGTIME  IS  AT   HAND  265 

of  the  pines  deep  and  rich,  the  budding  maples  redder 
than  coral.  The  church,  with  the  low  green  graves 
around  it,  appeared  not  a  stone's  throw  away,  and  the 
voices  of  the  children  up  and  down  the  street  sounded 
clearly,  as  though  they  played  in  the  brown  square 
below  me.  When  the  drum  beat  for  the  nooning  the 
roll  was  close  in  my  ears.  The  world  looked  so  bright 
and  keen  that  it  seemed  new  made,  and  the  brilliant 
sunshine  and  the  cold  wind  stirred  the  blood  like  wine. 

Now  and  then  men  and  women  passed  through  the 
square  below.  Well-nigh  all  glanced  up  at  the  win 
dow,  and  their  eyes  were  friendly.  It  was  known  now 
that  Buckingham  was  paramount  at  home,  and  my 
Lord  Carnal' s  following  in  Virginia  was  much  de 
cayed.  Young  Hamor  strode  by,  bravely  dressed  and 
whistling  cheerily,  and  doffed  a  hat  with  a  most  noble 
broken  feather.  "  We  're  going  to  bait  a  bear  below 
the  fort !  "  he  called.  "  Sorry  you  '11  miss  the  sport ! 
There  will  be  all  the  world  —  and  my  Lord  Carnal." 
He  whistled  himself  away,  and  presently  there  came 
along  Master  Edward  Sharpless.  He  stopped  and 
stared  at  the  rogue  in  the  pillory,  —  with  no  presci 
ence,  I  suppose,  of  a  day  when  he  was  to  stand  there 
himself;  then  looked  up  at  me  with  as  much  male 
volence  as  his  small  soul  could  write  upon  his  mean 
features,  and  passed  on.  He  had  a  jaded  look ;  more 
over,  his  clothes  were  swamp-stained  and  his  cloak  had 
been  torn  by  briers.  "  What  did  you  go  to  the  forest 
for  ?  "  I  muttered. 

The  key  grated  in  the  door  behind  me,  and  it  opened 
to  admit  the  gaoler  and  Diccon  with  my  dinner, — 
which  I  was  not  sorry  to  see.  "  Sir  George  sent  the 
venison,  sir,"  said  the  gaoler,  grinning,  "  and  Master 
Piersey  the  wild  fowl,  and  Madam  West  the  pasty 


266  TO  HAVE  AND   TO   HOLD 

and  the  marchpane,  and  Master  Pory  the  sack.     Be 
there  anything  you  lack,  sir  ?  " 

"  Nothing  that  you  can  supply,"  I  answered  curtly. 

The  fellow  grinned  again,  straightened  the  things 
upon  the  table,  and  started  for  the  door.  "  You  can 
stay  until  I  come  for  the  platters,"  he  said  to  Diccon, 
and  went  out,  locking  the  door  after  him  with  osten 
tation. 

I  applied  myself  to  the  dinner,  and  Diccon  went  to 
the  window,  and  stood  there  looking  out  at  the  blue  sky 
and  at  the  man  in  the  pillory.  He  had  the  freedom 
of  the  gaol.  I  was  somewhat  more  straitly  confined, 
though  niy  friends  had  easy  access  to  me.  As  for 
Jeremy  Sparrow,  he  had  spent  twenty-four  hours  in 
gaol,  at  the  end  of  which  time  Madam  West  had  a  fit 
of  the  spleen,  declared  she  was  dying,  and  insisted 
upon  Master  Sparrow's  being  sent  for  to  administer 
consolation ;  Master  Bucke,  unfortunately,  having  gone 
up  to  Henricus  on  business  connected  with  the  college. 
From  the  bedside  of  that  despotic  lady  Sparrow  was 
called  to  bury  a  man  on  the  other  side  of  the  river, 
and  from  the  grave  to  marry  a  couple  at  Mulberry 
Island.  And  the  next  day  being  Sunday,  and  no  min 
ister  at  hand,  he  preached  again  in  Master  Bucke's 
pulpit,  —  and  preached  a  sermon  so  powerful  and 
moving  that  its  like  had  never  been  heard  in  Virginia. 
They  marched  him  not  back  from  the  pulpit  to  gaol. 
There  were  but  five  ministers  in  Virginia,  and  there 
were  a  many  more  sick  to  visit  and  dead  to  bury. 
Master  Bucke,  still  feeble  in  body,  tarried  up  river 
discussing  with  Thorpe  the  latter's  darling  project  of 
converting  every  imp  of  an  Indian  this  side  the  South 
Sea,  and  Jeremy  slipped  into  his  old  place.  There  had 
been  some  talk  of  a  public  censure,  but  it  died  away. 


THE   SPRINGTIME  IS  AT  HAND  267 

The  pasty  and  sack  disposed  of,  I  turned  in  my 
seat  and  spoke  to  Diccon  :  "  I  looked  for  Master  Rolfe 
to-day.  Have  you  heard  aught  of  him  ?  " 

"No,"  he  answered.  As  he  spoke,  the  door  was 
opened  and  the  gaoler  put  in  his  head.  "  A  messenger 
from  Master  Rolfe,  captain."  He  drew  back,  and  the 
Indian  Nantauquas  entered  the  room. 

Rolfe  I  had  seen  twice  since  the  arrival  of  the 
George  at  Jamestown,  but  the  Indian  had  not  been 
with  him.  The  young  chief  now  came  forward  and 
touched  the  hand  I  held  out  to  him.  "  My  brother 
will  be  here  before  the  sun  touches  the  tallest  pine," 
he  announced  in  his  grave,  calm  voice.  "He  asks 
Captain  Percy  to  deny  himself  to  any  other  that  may 
come.  He  wishes  to  see  him  alone." 

"  I  shall  hardly  be  troubled  with  company,"  I  said. 
"  There 's  a  bear-baiting  toward." 

Nantauquas  smiled.  "  My  brother  asked  me  to  find 
a  bear  for  to-day.  I  bought  one  from  the  Paspaheghs 
for  a  piece  of  copper,  and  took  him  to  the  ring  below 
the  fort." 

"Where  all  the  town  will  presently  be  gone,"  I 
said.  "  I  wonder  what  Rolfe  did  that  for !  " 

Filling  a  cup  with  sack,  I  pushed  it  to  the  Indian 
across  the  table.  "  You  are  little  in  the  woods  nowa 
days,  Nantauquas." 

His  fine  dark  face  clouded  ever  so  slightly.  "  Ope- 
chancanough  has  dreamt  that  I  am  Indian  no  longer. 
Singing  birds  have  lied  to  him,  telling  him  that  I  love 
the  white  man,  and  hate  my  own  color.  He  calls  me 
no  more  his  brave,  his  brother  Powhatan's  dear  son. 
I  do  n6t  sit  by  his  council  fire  now,  nor  do  I  lead  his 
war  bands.  When  I  went  last  to  his  lodge  and  stood 
before  him,  his  eyes  burned  me  like  the  coals  the 


268  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

Monacans  once  closed  my  hands  upon.     He  would 
not  speak  to  me." 

"  It  would  not  fret  me  if  he  never  spoke  again,"  I 
said.  "  You  have  been  to  the  forest  to-day  ?  " 

"Yes,"  he  replied,  glancing  at  the  smear  of  leaf 
mould  upon  his  beaded  moccasins.  "  Captain  Percy's 
eyes  are  quick ;  he  should  have  been  an  Indian.  I 
went  to  the  Paspaheghs  to  take  them  the  piece  of  cop 
per.  I  could  tell  Captain  Percy  a  curious  thing  "  — 

"  Well? "  I  demanded,  as  he  paused. 

"I  went  to  the  lodge  of  the  werowance  with  the 
copper,  and  found  him  not  there.  The  old  men  de 
clared  that  he  had  gone  to  the  weirs  for  fish,  —  he  and 
ten  of  his  braves.  The  old  men  lied.  I  had  passed 
the  weirs  of  the  Paspaheghs,  and  no  man  was  there.  I 
sat  and  smoked  before  the  lodge,  and  the  maidens 
brought  me  chinquapin  cakes  and  pohickory ;  for 
Nantauquas  is  a  prince  and  a  welcome  guest  to  all 
save  Opechancanough.  The  old  men  smoked,  with 
their  eyes  upon  the  ground,  each  seeing  only  the  days 
when  he  was  even  as  Nantauquas.  They  never  knew 
when  a  wife  of  the  werowance,  turned  child  by  pride, 
unfolded  a  doeskin  and  showed  Nantauquas  a  silver 
cup  carved  all  over  and  set  with  colored  stones." 

"  Humph ! " 

"The  cup  was  a  heavy  price  to  pay,"  continued 
the  Indian.  "I  do  not  know  what  great  thing  it 
bought." 

"  Humph !  "  I  said  again.  "  Did  you  happen  to 
meet  Master  Edward  Sharpless  in  the  forest  ?  " 

He  shook  his  head.  "  The  forest  is  wide,  and  there 
are  many  trails  through  it.  Nantauquas  looked  for 
that  of  the  werowance  of  the  Paspaheghs,  but  found  it 
not.  He  had  no  time  to  waste  upon  a  white  man." 


THE  SPRINGTIME  IS  AT  HAND  269 

He  gathered  his  otterskin  mantle  about  him  and 
prepared  to  depart.  I  rose  and  gave  him  my  hand, 
for  I  thoroughly  liked  him,  and  in  the  past  he  had 
made  me  his  debtor.  "  Tell  Rolfe  he  will  find  me 
alone,"  I  said,  "  and  take  my  thanks  for  your  pains, 
Nantauquas.  If  ever  we  hunt  together  again,  may  I 
have  the  chance  to  serve  you !  I  bear  the  scars  of  the 
wolf's  teeth  yet ;  you  came  in  the  nick  of  time,  that 
day." 

The  Indian  smiled.  "  It  was  a  fierce  old  wolf.  I 
wish  Captain  Percy  free  with  all  my  heart,  and  then 
we  will  hunt  more  wolves,  he  and  I." 

When  he  was  gone,  and  the  gaoler  and  Diccon  with 
him,  I  returned  to  the  window.  The  runaway  in  the 
pillory  was  released,  and  went  away  homewards,  stag 
gering  beside  his  master's  stirrup.  Passers-by  grew 
more  and  more  infrequent,  and  up  the  street  came 
faint  sounds  of  laughter  and  hurrahing,  —  the  bear 
must  be  making  good  sport.  I  could  see  the  half- 
moon,  and  the  guns,  and  the  flag  that  streamed  in  the 
wind,  and  on  the  river  a  sail  or  two,  white  in  the  sun 
light  as  the  gulls  that  swooped  past.  Beyond  rose 
the  bare  masts  of  the  George.  The  Santa  Teresa 
rode  no  more  forever  in  the  James.  The  King's  ship 
was  gone  home  to  the  King  without  the  freight  he 
looked  for.  Three  days,  and  the  George  would  spread 
her  white  wings  and  go  down  the  wide  river,  and  I 
with  her,  and  the  King's  ward,  and  the  King's  some 
time  favorite.  I  looked  down  the  wind-ruffled  stream, 
and  saw  the  great  bay  into  which  it  emptied,  and 
beyond  the  bay  the  heaving  ocean,  dark  and  light, 
league  on  league,  league  on  league ;  then  green  Eng 
land,  and  London,  and  the  Tower.  The  vision  dis 
turbed  me  less  than  once  it  would  have  done.  Men 


270  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

that  I  knew  and  trusted  were  to  be  passengers  on  that 
ship,  as  well  as  one  I  knew  and  did  not  trust.  And 
if,  at  the  journey's  end,  I  saw  the  Tower,  I  saw  also 
his  Grace  of  Buckingham.  Where  I  hated  he  hated, 
and  was  now  powerful  enough  to  strike. 

The  wind  blew  from  the  west,  from  the  unknown. 
I  turned  my  head,  and  it  beat  against  my  forehead, 
cold  and  fragrant  with  the  essence  of  the  forest,  — 
pine  and  cedar,  dead  leaves  and  black  mould,  fen  and 
hollow  and  hill,  —  all  the  world  of  woods  over  which 
it  had  passed.  The  ghost  of  things  long  dead,  which 
face  or  voice  could  never  conjure  up,  will  sometimes 
start  across  our  path  at  the  beckoning  of  an  odor. 
A  day  in  the  Starving  Time  came  back  to  me :  how 
I  had  dragged  myself  from  our  broken  palisade  and 
crazy  huts,  and  the  groans  of  the  famished  and  the 
plague-stricken,  and  the  presence  of  the  unburied  dead, 
across  the  neck  and  into  the  woods,  and  had  lain  down 
there  to  die,  being  taken  with  a  sick  fear  and  horror 
of  the  place  of  cannibals  behind  me ;  and  how  weak  I 
was !  —  too  weak  to  care  any  more.  I  had  been  a 
strong  man,  and  it  had  come  to  that,  and  I  was  con 
tent  to  let  it  be.  The  smell  of  the  woods  that  day,  the 
chill  brown  earth  beneath  me,  the  blowing  wind,  the 
long  stretch  of  the  river  gleaming  between  the  pines, 
.  .  .  and  fair  In  sight  the  white  sails  of  the  Patience 
and  the  Deliverance. 

I  had  been  too  nigh  gone  then  to  greatly  care  that  1 
was  saved ;  now  I  cared,  and  thanked  God  for  my  life. 
Come  what  might  in  the  future,  the  past  was  mine. 
Though  I  should  never  see  my  wife  again,  I  had  that 
hour  in  the  state  cabin  of  the  George.  I  loved,  and 
was  loved  again. 

There  was  a  noise  outside  the  door,  and   Rolfe's 


THE  SPRINGTIME  IS   AT  HAND  271 

voice  speaking  to  the  gaoler.  Impatient  for  his  en- 
trance  I  started  toward  the  door,  but  when  it  opened 
he  made  no  move  to  cross  the  threshold.  "  I  am  not 
coming  in,"  he  said,  with  a  face  that  he  strove  to  keep 
grave.  "  I  only  came  to  bring  some  one  else."  With 
that  he  stepped  back,  and  a  second  figure,  coming 
forward  out  of  the  dimness  behind  him,  crossed  the 
threshold.  It  was  a  woman,  cloaked  and  hooded. 
The  door  was  drawn  to  behind  her,  and  we  were  alone 
together. 

Beside  the  cloak  and  hood  she  wore  a  riding  mask. 
"  Do  you  know  who  it  is  ?  "  she  asked,  when  she  had 
stood,  so  shrouded,  for  a  long  minute,  during  which  I 
had  found  no  words  with  which  to  welcome  her. 

"Yea,"  I  answered:  "the  princess  in  the  fairy 
tale." 

She  freed  her  dark  hair  from  its  covering,  and  un 
clasping  her  cloak  let  it  drop  to  the  floor.  "  Shall  I 
unmask  ?  "  she  asked,  with  a  sigh.  "  Faith  !  I  should 
keep  the  bit  of  silk  between  your  eyes,  sir,  and  my 
blushes.  Am  I  ever  to  be  the  forward  one  ?  Do  you 
not  think  me  too  bold  a  lady  ?  "  As  she  spoke,  her 
white  hands  were  busy  about  the  fastening  of  her 
mask.  "  The  knot  is  too  hard,"  she  murmured,  with 
a  little  tremulous  laugh  and  a  catch  of  her  breath. 

I  untied  the  ribbons. 

"  May  I  not  sit  down  ?  "  she  said  plaintively,  but 
with  soft  merriment  in  her  eyes.  "  I  am  not  quite 
strong  yet.  My  heart  —  you  do  not  know  what  pain 
I  have  in  my  heart  sometimes.  It  makes  me  weep  of 
nights  and  when  none  are  by,  indeed  it  does ! " 

There  was  a  settle  beneath  the  window.  I  led  her 
to  it,  and  she  sat  down. 

"  You  must  know  that  I  am  walking  in  the  Govern- 


272  TO   HAVE  AND  TO   HOLD 

or's  garden,  that  hath  only  a  lane  between  it  and  the 
gaol."  Her  eyes  were  downcast,  her  cheeks  pure  rose. 

"  When  did  you  first  love  me  ?  "  I  demanded. 

"  Lady  Wyatt  must  have  guessed  why  Master  Rolfe 
alone  went  not  to  the  bear-baiting,  but  joined  us  in 
the  garden.  She  said  the  air  was  keen,  and  fetched 
me  her  mask,  and  then  herself  went  indoors  to  em 
broider  Samson  in  the  arms  of  Delilah.' 

"  Was  it  here  at  Jamestown,  or  was  it  when  we 
were  first  wrecked,  or  on  the  island  with  the  pink  hill 
when  you  wrote  my  name  in  the  sand,  or  "  — 

"  The  George  will  sail  in  three  days,  and  we  are  to 
be  taken  back  to  England  after  all.  It  does  not  scare 
me  now." 

"In  all  my  life  I  have  kissed  you  only  once,"  I  said. 

The  rose  deepened,  and  in  her  eyes  there  was  laugh 
ter,  with  tears  behind.  "  You  are  a  gentleman  of 
determination,"  she  said.  "If  you  are  bent  upon 
having  your  way,  I  do  not  know  that  I  —  that  I  —  can 
help  myself.  I  do  not  even  know  that  I  want  to  help 
myself." 

Outside  the  wind  blew  and  the  sun  shone,  and  the 
laughter  from  below  the  fort  was  too  far  away  and 
elfin  to  jar  upon  us.  The  world  forgot  us,  and  we 
were  well  content.  There  seemed  not  much  to  say :  I 
suppose  we  were  too  happy  for  words.  I  knelt  beside 
her,  and  she  laid  her  hands  in  mine,  and  now  and  then 
we  spoke.  In  her  short  and  lonely  life,  and  in  my 
longer  stern  and  crowded  one,  there  had  been  little 
tenderness,  little  happiness.  In  her  past,  to  those 
about  her,  she  had  seemed  bright  and  gay ;  I  had  been 
a  comrade  whom  men  liked  because  I  could  jest  as 
well  as  fight.  Now  we  were  happy,  but  we  were  not 
gay.  Each  felt  for  the  other  a  great  compassion ; 


THE  SPRINGTIME  IS  AT  HAND  273 

each  knew  that  though  we  smiled  to-day,  the  groan 
and  the  tear  might  be  to-morrow's  due ;  the  sunshine 
around  us  was  pure  gold,  but  that  the  clouds  were 
mounting  we  knew  full  well. 

"  I  must  soon  be  gone,"  she  said  at  last.  "  It  is  a 
stolen  meeting.  I  do  not  know  when  we  shall  meet 
again/' 

She  rose  from  the  settle,  and  I  rose  with  her,  and 
we  stood  together  beside  the  barred  window.  There 
was  no  danger  of  her  being  seen ;  street  and  square 
were  left  to  the  wind  and  the  sunshine.  My  arm  was 
around  her,  and  she  leaned  her  head  against  my  breast. 
"  Perhaps  we  shall  never  meet  again,"  she  said. 

"  The  winter  is  over,"  I  answered.  "  Soon  the  trees 
will  be  green  and  the  flowers  in  bloom.  I  will  not 
believe  that  our  spring  can  have  no  summer." 

She  took  from  her  bosom  a  little  flower  that  had 
been  pinned  there.  It  lay,  a  purple  star,  in  the  hollow 
of  her  hand.  "It  grew  in  the  sun.  It  is  the  first 
flower  of  spring."  She  put  it  to  her  lips,  then  laid  it 
upon  the  window  ledge  beside  my  hand.  "  I  have 
brought  you  evil  gifts,  —  foes  and  strife  and  peril. 
Will  you  take  this  little  purple  flower  —  and  all  my 
heart  beside  ?  " 

I  bent  and  kissed  first  the  tiny  blossom,  and  then 
the  lips  that  had  proffered  it.  "  I  am  very  rich,"  I 
said. 

The  sun  was  now  low,  and  the  pines  in  the  square 
and  the  upright  of  the  pillory  cast  long  shadows.  The 
wind  had  fallen  and  the  sounds  had  died  away.  It 
seemed  very  still.  Nothing  moved  but  the  creeping 
shadows  until  a  flight  of  small  white-breasted  birds 
went  past  the  window.  "  The  snow  is  gone,"  I  said. 
"  The  snowbirds  are  flying  north." 


274  TO  HAVE   AND  TO   HOLD 

"The  woods  will  soon  be  green,"  she  murmured 
wistfully.  "  Ah,  if  we  could  ride  through  them  once 
more,  back  to  Weyanoke  "  — 

"  To  home,"  I  said. 

"  Home,"  she  echoed  softly. 

There  was  a  low  knocking  at  the  door  behind  us. 
"  It  is  Master  Rolfe's  signal,"  she  said.  "  I  must  not 
stay.  Tell  me  that  you  love  me,  and  let  me  go." 

I  drew  her  closer  to  me  and  pressed  my  lips  upon 
her  bowed  head.  "  Do  you  not  know  that  I  love  you  ?  " 
I  asked. 

"  Yea,"  she  answered.  "  I  have  been  taught  it. 
Tell  me  that  you  believe  that  God  will  be  good  to  us. 
Tell  me  that  we  shall  be  happy  yet ;  for  oh,  I  have  a 
boding  heart  this  day  !  " 

Her  voice  broke,  and  she  lay  trembling  in  my  arms, 
her  face  hidden.  "  If  the  summer  never  comes  for 
us  "  —  she  whispered.  "  Good-by,  my  lover  and  my 
husband.  If  I  have  brought  you  ruin  and  death,  I 
have  brought  you,  too,  a  love  that  is  very  great.  For 
give  me  and  kiss  me,  and  let  me  go." 

"  Thou  art  my  dearly  loved  and  honored  wife,"  I 
said.  "My  heart  forebodes  summer,  and  joy,  and 
peace,  and  home." 

We  kissed  each  other  solemnly,  as  those  who  part 
for  a  journey  and  a  warfare.  I  spoke  no  word  to 
Rolfe  when  the  door  was  opened  and  she  had  passed 
out  with  her  cloak  drawn  about  her  face,  but  we 
clasped  hands,  and  each  knew  the  other  for  his  friend 
indeed.  They  were  gone,  the  gaoler  closing  and  lock 
ing  the  door  behind  them.  As  for  me,  I  went  back  to 
the  settle  beneath  the  window,  and,  falling  on  my 
knees  beside  it,  buried  my  face  in  my  arms. 


CHAPTER  XXIX 

IN  WHICH   I   KEEP   TRYST 

THE  sun  dropped  below  the  forest,  blood  red,  dye 
ing  the  river  its  own  color.  There  were  no  clouds  in 
the  sky,  —  only  a  great  suffusion  of  crimson  climbing 
to  the  zenith ;  against  it  the  woods  were  as  black  as 
war  paint.  The  color  faded  and  the  night  set  in,  a 
night  of  no  wind  and  of  numberless  stars.  On  the 
hearth  burned  a  fire.  I  left  the  window  and  sat  be 
side  it,  and  in  the  hollows  between  the  red  embers  made 
pictures,  as  I  used  to  make  them  when  I  was  a  boy. 

I  sat  there  long.  It  grew  late,  and  all  sounds  in  the 
town  were  hushed ;  only  now  and  then  the  "  All 's 
well !  "  of  the  watch  came  faintly  to  my  ears.  Diccon 
lodged  with  me  ;  he  lay  in  his  clothes  upon  a  pallet  in 
the  far  corner  of  the  room,  but  whether  he  slept  or  not 
I  did  not  ask.  He  and  I  had  never  wasted  words ; 
since  chance  had  thrown  us  together  again  we  spoke 
only  when  occasion  required. 

The  fire  was  nigh  out,  and  it  must  have  been  ten  of 
the  clock  when,  with  somewhat  more  of  caution  and 
less  of  noise  than  usual,  the  key  grated  in  the  lock ; 
the  door  opened,  and  the  gaoler  entered,  closing  it 
noiselessly  behind  him.  There  was  no  reason  why  he 
should  intrude  himself  upon  me  after  nightfall,  and  I 
regarded  him  with  a  frown  and  an  impatience  that 
presently  turned  to  curiosity. 

He  began  to  move  about  the  room,  making  pretense, 


276  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

of  seeing  that  there  was  water  in  the  pitcher  beside 
my  pallet,  that  the  straw  beneath  the  coverlet  was 
fresh,  that  the  bars  of  the  window  were  firm,  and 
ended  by  approaching  the  fire  and  heaping  pine  upon 
it.  It  flamed  up  brilliantly,  and  in  the  strong  red 
light  he  half  opened  a  clenched  hand  and  showed  me 
two  gold  pieces,  and  beneath  them  a  folded  paper.  I 
looked  at  his  furtive  eyes  and  brutal,  doltish  face,  but 
he  kept  them  blank  as  a  wall.  The  hand  closed  again 
over  the  treasure  within  it,  and  he  turned  away  as  if 
to  leave  the  room.  I  drew  a  noble  —  one  of  a  small 
store  of  gold  pieces  conveyed  to  me  by  Rolf e  —  from 
my  pocket,  and  stooping  made  it  spin  upon  the  hearth 
in  the  red  firelight.  The  gaoler  looked  at  it  askanc^ 
but  continued  his  progress  toward  the  door.  I  drew 
out  its  fellow,  set  it  too  to  spinning,  then  leaned  back 
against  the  table.  "  They  hunt  in  couples,"  I  said. 
"  There  will  be  no  third  one." 

He  had  his  foot  upon  them  before  they  had  done 
spinning.  The  next  moment  they  had  kissed  the  two 
pieces  already  in  his  possession,  and  he  had  transferred 
all  four  to  his  pocket.  I  held  out  my  hand  for  the 
paper,  and  he  gave  it  to  me  grudgingly,  with  a  spiteful 
slowness  of  movement.  He  would  have  stayed  beside 
me  as  I  read  it,  but  I  sternly  bade  him  keep  his  dis 
tance  ;  then  kneeling  before  the  fire  to  get  the  light,  I 
opened  the  paper.  It  was  written  upon  in  a  delicate, 
woman's  hand,  and  it  ran  thus :  — 

An  you  hold  me  dear,  come  to  me  at  once.  Come 
without  tarrying  to  the  deserted  hut  on  the  neck  of 
land,  nearest  to  the  forest.  As  you  love  me,  as  you 
are  my  knight,  keep  this  tryst. 

In  distress  and  peril,  THY  WIFE. 


IN  WHICH  I  KEEP  TRYST  277 

Folded  with  it  was  a  line  in  the  commander's  hand 
and  with  his  signature :  "  The  bearer  may  pass  without 
the  palisade  at  his  pleasure." 

I  read  the  first  paper  again,  refolded  it,  and  rose  to 
my  feet.  "  Who  brought  this,  sirrah  ?  "  I  demanded. 

His  answer  was  glib  enough :  "  One  of  the  gov 
ernor's  servants.  He  said  as  how  there  was  no  harm 
in  the  letter,  and  the  gold  was  good." 

"  When  was  this  ?" 

"  Just  now.     No,  I  did  n't  know  the  man." 

I  saw  no  way  to  discover  whether  or  not  he  lied. 
Drawing  out  another  gold  piece,  I  laid  it  upon  the 
table.  He  eyed  it  greedily,  edging  nearer  and  nearer. 

"  For  leaving  this  door  unlocked,"  I  said. 

His  eyes  narrowed  and  he  moistened  his  lips,  shift 
ing  from  one  foot  to  the  other. 

I  put  down  a  second  piece.  "  For  opening  the  outer 
door,"  I  said. 

He  wet  his  lips  again,  made  an  inarticulate  sound 
in  his  throat,  and  finally  broke  out  with,  "  The  com 
mander  will  nail  my  ears  to  the  pillory." 

"You  can  lock  the  doors  after  me,  and  know  as 
little  as  you  choose  in  the  morning.  No  gain  without 
some  risk." 

"  That 's  so,"  he  agreed,  and  made  a  clutch  at  the 
gold. 

I  swept  it  out  of  his  reach.  "  First  earn  it,"  I  said 
dryly.  "  Look  at  the  foot  of  the  pillory  an  hour  from 
now  and  you  '11  find  it.  I  '11  not  pay  you  this  side  of 
the  doors." 

He  bit  his  lips  and  studied  the  floor.  "  You  're  a 
gentleman,"  he  growled  at  last.  "I  suppose  I  can 
trust  ye." 

"  I  suppose  you  can." 


278  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

Taking  up  his  lantern  he  turned  toward  the  door. 
"  It 's  growing  late,"  he  said,  with  a  most  uncouth 
attempt  to  feign  a  guileless  drowsiness.  "  I  '11  to  bed, 
captain,  when  I  've  locked  up.  Good-night  to  ye !  " 

He  was  gone,  and  the  door  was  left  unlocked.  I 
could  walk  out  of  that  gaol  as  I  could  have  walked  out 
of  my  house  at  Weyanoke.  I  was  free,  but  should  I 
take  my  freedom  ?  Going  back  to  the  light  of  the  fire 
I  unfolded  the  paper  and  stared  at  it,  turning  its  con 
tents  this  way  and  that  in  my  mind.  The  hand  —  but 
once  had  I  seen  her  writing,  and  then  it  had  been 
wrought  with  a  shell  upon  firm  sand.  I  could  not 
judge  if  this  were  the  same.  Had  the  paper  indeed 
come  from  her  ?  Had  it  not  ?  If  in  truth  it  was  a 
message  from  my  wife,  what  had  befallen  in  a  few 
hours  since  our  parting  ?  If  it  was  a  forger's  lie,  what 
trap  was  set,  what  toils  were  laid  ?  I  walked  up  and 
down,  and  tried  to  think  it  out.  The  strangeness  of  it 
all,  the  choice  of  a  lonely  and  distant  hut  for  trysting 
place,  that  pass  coming  from  a  sworn  officer  of  the 
Company,  certain  things  I  had  heard  that  day  .  .  . 
A  trap  .  .  .  and  to  walk  into  it  with  my  eyes  open. 
.  .  .  An  you  hold  me  dear.  As  you  are  my  knight, 
keep  this  tryst.  In  distress  and  peril.  .  .  .  Come 
what  might,  there  was  a  risk  I  could  not  run. 

I  had  no  weapons  to  assume,  no  preparations  to 
make.  Gathering  up  the  gaoler's  gold  I  started  to 
ward  the  door,  opened  it,  and  going  out  would  have 
closed  it  softly  behind  me  but  that  a  booted  leg  thrust 
across  the  jamb  prevented  me.  "  I  am  going  with 
you,"  said  Diccon  in  a  guarded  voice.  "  If  you  try  to 
prevent  me,  I  will  rouse  the  house."  His  head  was 
thrown  back  in  the  old  way  ;  the  old  daredevil  look 
was  upon  his  face.  "  I  don't  know  why  you  are 


IN  WHICH  I  KEEP  TRYST  279 

going, '  lie  declared,  "  but  there  '11  be  danger,  any 
how." 

"  To  the  best  of  my  belief  I  am  walking  into  a 
trap,"  I  said. 

"Then  it  will  shut  on  two  instead  of  one,"  he 
answered  doggedly. 

By  this  he  was  through  the  door,  and  there  was  no 
shadow  of  turning  on  his  dark,  determined  face.  I 
knew  my  man,  and  wasted  no  more  words.  Long 
ago  it  had  grown  to  seem  the  thing  most  in  nature 
that  the  hour  of  danger  should  find  us  side  by  side. 

When  the  door  of  the  firelit  room  was  shut,  the  gaol 
was  in  darkness  that  might  be  felt.  It  was  very  still : 
the  few  other  inmates  were  fast  asleep ;  the  gaoler 
was  somewhere  out  of  sight,  dreaming  with  open  eyes. 
We  groped  our  way  through  the  passage  to  the  stairs, 
noiselessly  descended  them,  and  found  the  outer  door 
unchained,  unbarred,  and  slightly  ajar. 

When  I  had  laid  the  gold  beneath  the  pillory,  we 
struck  swiftly  across  the  square,  being  in  fear  lest  the 
watch  should  come  upon  us,  and  took  the  first  lane 
that  led  toward  the  palisade.  Beneath  the  burning 
stars  the  town  lay  stark  in  sleep.  So  bright  in  the 
wintry  air  were  those  far-away  lights  that  the  dark 
ness  below  them  was  not  great.  We  could  see  the 
low  houses,  the  shadowy  pines,  the  naked  oaks,  the 
sandy  lane  glimmering  away  to  the  river,  star-strewn 
to  match  the  heavens.  The  air  was  cold,  but  exceed 
ingly  clear  and  still.  Now  and  then  a  dog  barked,  or 
wolves  howled  in  the  forest  across  the  river.  We  kept 
in  the  shadow  of  the  houses  and  the  trees,  and  went 
with  the  swiftness,  silence,  and  caution  of  Indians. 

The  last  house  we  must  pass  before  reaching  the 
palisade  was  one  that  Rolfe  owned,  and  in  which  he 


280  TO   HAVE  AND  TO   HOLD 

lodged  when  business  brought  him  to  Jamestown.  It 
and  some  low  outbuildings  beyond  it  were  as  dark  as 
the  cedars  in  which  they  were  set,  and  as  silent  as  the 
grave.  Kolfe  and  his  Indian  brother  were  sleeping 
there  now,  while  I  stood  without.  Or  did  they  sleep  ? 
Were  they  there  at  all?  Might  it  not  have  been 
Rolfe  who  had  bribed  the  gaoler  and  procured  the 
pass  from  West  ?  Might  I  not  find  him  at  that  strange 
trysting  place  ?  Might  not  all  be  well,  after  all  ?  I 
was  sorely  tempted  to  rouse  that  silent  house  and 
demand  if  its  master  were  within.  I  did  it  not. 
Servants  were  there,  and  noise  would  be  made,  and 
time  that  might  be  more  precious  than  life-blood  was 
flying  fast.  I  went  on,  and  Diccon  with  me. 

There  was  a  cabin  built  almost  against  the  palisade, 
and  here  one  man  was  supposed  to  watch,  whilst  an 
other  slept.  To-night  we  found  both  asleep.  I  shook 
the  younger  to  his  feet,  and  heartily  cursed  him  for 
his  negligence.  He  listened  stupidly,  and  read  as  stu 
pidly,  by  the  light  of  his  lantern,  the  pass  which  I 
thrust  beneath  his  nose.  Staggering  to  his  feet,  and 
drunk  with  his  unlawful  slumber,  he  fumbled  at  the 
fastenings  of  the  gate  for  full  three  minutes  before 
the  ponderous  wood  finally  swung  open  and  showed  the 
road  beyond.  "  It 's  all  right,"  he  muttered  thickly. 
"  The  commander's  pass.  Good-night,  the  three  of  ye ! " 

"  Are  you  drunk  or  drugged  ? "  I  demanded. 
"  There  are  only  two.  It 's  not  sleep  that  is  the  mat 
ter  with  you.  What  is  it  ?  " 

He  made  no  answer,  but  stood  holding  the  gate  open 
and  blinking  at  us  with  dull,  unseeing  eyes.  Some 
thing  ailed  him  besides  sleep ;  he  may  have  been 
drugged,  for  aught  I  know.  When  we  had  gone  some 
yards  from  the  gate,  we  heard  him  say  again,  in  pre- 


IN  WHICH  I  KEEP  TRYST  281 

cisely  the  same  tone,  "  Good-night,  the  three  of  ye !  " 
Then  the  gate  creaked  to,  and  we  heard  the  bars  drawn 
across  it. 

Without  the  palisade  was  a  space  of  waste  land, 
marsh  and  thicket,  tapering  to  the  narrow  strip  of  sand 
and  scrub  joining  the  peninsula  to  the  forest,  and  here 
and  there  upon  this  waste  ground  rose  a  mean  house, 
dwelt  in  by  the  poorer  sort.  All  were  dark.  We  left 
them  behind,  and  found  ourselves  upon  the  neck,  with 
the  desolate  murmur  of  the  river  on  either  hand,  and 
before  us  the  deep  blackness  of  the  forest.  Suddenly 
Diccon  stopped  in  his  tracks  and  turned  his  head.  "  I 
did  hear  something  then,"  he  muttered.  "  Look,  sir !  " 

The  stars  faintly  lit  the  road  that  had  been  trodden 
hard  and  bare  by  the  feet  of  all  who  came  and  went. 
Down  this  road  something  was  coming  toward  us,  some 
thing  low  and  dark,  that  moved  not  fast,  and  not 
slow,  but  with  a  measured  and  relentless  pace.  "  A 
panther !  "  said  Diccon. 

We  watched  the  creature  with  more  of  curiosity 
than  alarm.  Unless  brought  to  bay,  or  hungry,  or 
wantonly  irritated,  these  great  cats  were  cowardly 
enough.  It  would  hardly  attack  the  two  of  us. 
Nearer  and  nearer  it  came,  showing  no  signs  of  anger 
and  none  of  fear,  and  paying  no  attention  to  the  with 
ered  branch  with  which  Diccon  tried  to  scare  it  off. 
When  it  was  so  close  that  we  could  see  the  white  of 
its  breast  it  stopped,  looking  at  us  with  large  un 
faltering  eyes,  and  slightly  moving  its  tail  to  and  fro. 

"  A  tame  panther  !  "  ejaculated  Diccon.  "  It  must 
be  the  one  Nantauquas  tamed,  sir.  He  would  have 
kept  it  somewhere  near  Master  Rolfe's  house." 

"  And  it  heard  us,  and  followed  us  through  the 
gate,"  I  said,  "  It  was  the  third  the  warder  talked  of." 


282  TO  HAVE   AND  TO  HOLD 

We  walked  on,  and  the  beast,  addressing  itself 
to  motion,  followed  at  our  heels.  Now  and  then  we 
looked  back  at  it,  but  we  feared  it  not. 

As  for  me,  I  had  begun  to  think  that  a  panther 
might  be  the  least  formidable  thing  I  should  meet 
that  night.  By  this  I  had  scarcely  any  hope  —  or 
fear  —  that  I  should  find  her  at  our  journey's  end. 
The  lonesome  path  that  led  only  to  the  night-time  for 
est,  the  deep  and  dark  river  with  its  mournful  voice, 
the  hard,  bright,  pitiless  stars,  the  cold,  the  loneliness, 
the  distance,  —  how  should  she  be  there  ?  And  if  not 
she,  who  then  ? 

The  hut  to  which  I  had  been  directed  stood  in  an 
angle  made  by  the  neck  and  the  main  bank  of  the 
river.  On  one  side  of  it  was  the  water,  on  the  other 
a  deep  wood.  The  place  had  an  evil  name,  and  no 
man  had  lived  there  since  the  planter  who  had  built  it 
hanged  himself  upon  its  threshold.  The  hut  was  ruin 
ous  :  in  the  summer  tall  weeds  grew  up  around  it,  and 
venomous  snakes  harbored  beneath  its  rotted  and  bro 
ken  floor ;  in  the  winter  the  snow  whitened  it,  and  the 
wild  fowl  flew  screaming  in  and  out  of  the  open  door 
and  the  windows  that  needed  no  barring.  To-night 
the  door  was  shut  and  the  windows  in  some  way  ob 
scured.  But  the  interstices  between  the  logs  showed 
red  ;  the  hut  was  lighted  within,  and  some  one  was 
keeping  tryst. 

The  stillness  was  deadly.  It  was  not  silence,  for 
the  river  murmured  in  the  stiff  reeds,  and  far  off  in 
the  midnight  forest  some  beast  of  the  night  uttered  its 
cry,  but  a  hush,  a  holding  of  the  breath,  an  expectant 
horror.  The  door,  warped  and  shrunken,  was  drawn 
to,  but  was  not  fastened,  as  I  could  tell  by  the  un 
broken  line  of  red  light  down  one  side  from  top  to 


IN  WHICH  I  KEEP  TRYST  283 

bottom.  Making  no  sound,  I  laid  my  hand  upon  it, 
pushed  it  open  a  little  way,  and  looked  within  the 
hut. 

I  had  thought  to  find  it  empty  or  to  find  it  crowded. 
It  was  neither.  A  torch  lit  it,  and  on  the  hearth 
burned  a  fire.  Drawn  in  front  of  the  blaze  was  an 
old  rude  chair,  and  in  it  sat  a  slight  figure  draped 
from  head  to  foot  in  a  black  cloak.  The  head  was 
bowed  and  hidden,  the  whole  attitude  one  of  listless- 
ness  and  dejection.  As  I  looked,  there  came  a  long 
tremulous  sigh,  and  the  head  drooped  lower  and  lower, 
as  if  in  a  growing  hopelessness. 

The  revulsion  of  feeling  was  so  great  that  for  the 
moment  I  was  dazed  as  by  a  sudden  blow.  There  had 
been  time  during  the  walk  from  the  gaol  for  enough 
of  wild  and  whirling  thoughts  as  to  what  should  greet 
me  in  that  hut ;  and  now  the  slight  figure  by  the  fire, 
the  exquisite  melancholy  of  its  posture,  its  bent  head, 
the  weeping  I  could  divine,  —  I  had  but  one  thought, 
to  comfort  her  as  quickly  as  I  might.  Diccon's  hand 
was  upon  my  arm,  but  I  shook  it  off,  and  pushing  the 
door  open  crossed  the  uneven  and  noisy  floor  to  the 
fire,  and  bent  over  the  lonely  figure  beside  it.  "  Jo- 
celyn,"  I  said,  "  I  have  kept  tryst." 

As  I  spoke,  I  laid  my  hand  upon  the  bowed  and 
covered  head.  It  was  raised,  the  cloak  was  drawn 
aside,  and  there  looked  me  in  the  eyes  the  Italian. 

As  if  it  had  been  the  Gorgon's  gaze,  I  was  turned 
to  stone.  The  filmy  eyes,  the  smile  that  would  have 
been  mocking  had  it  not  been  so  very  faint,  the  pallor, 
the  malignance,  —  I  stared  and  stared,  and  my  heart 
grew  cold  and  sick. 

It  was  but  for  a  minute  ;  then  a  warning  cry  from 
Diccon  roused  me.  I  sprang  backward  until  the  width 


284  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

of  the  hearth  was  between  me  and  the  Italian,  then 
wheeled  and  found  myself  face  to  face  with  the  King's 
late  favorite.  Behind  him  was  an  open  door,  and 
beyond  it  a  small  inner  room,  dimly  lighted.  He  stood 
and  looked  at  me  with  an  insolence  and  a  triumph 
most  intolerable.  His  drawn  sword  was  in  his  hand, 
the  jeweled  hilt  blazing  in  the  firelight,  and  on  his 
dark,  superb  face  a  taunting  smile.  I  met  it  with  one 
as  bold,  at  least,  but  I  said  no  word,  good  or  bad.  In 
the  cabin  of  the  George  I  had  sworn  to  myself  that 
thenceforward  my  sword  should  speak  for  me  to  this 
gentleman. 

"  You  came,"  he  said.     "  I  thought  you  would." 

I  glanced  around  the  hut,  seeking  for  a  weapon. 
Seeing  nothing  more  promising  than  the  thick,  half- 
consumed  torch,  I  sprang  to  it  and  wrested  it  from  the 
socket.  Diccon  caught  up  a  piece  of  rusted  iron  from 
the  hearth,  and  together  we  faced  my  lord's  drawn 
sword  and  a  small,  sharp,  and  strangely  shaped  dagger 
that  the  Italian  drew  from  a  velvet  sheath. 

My  lord  laughed,  reading  my  thoughts.  "  You  are 
mistaken,"  he  declared  coolly.  "  I  am  content  that 
Captain  Percy  knows  I  do  not  fear  to  fight  him.  This 
time  I  play  to  win."  Turning  toward  the  outer  door, 
he  raised  his  hand  with  a  gesture  of  command. 

In  an  instant  the  room  was  filled.  The  red-brown 
figures,  naked  save  for  the  loincloth  and  the  headdress, 
the  impassive  faces  dashed  with  black,  the  ruthless 
eyes,  —  I  knew  now  why  Master  Edward  Sharpless 
had  gone  to  the  forest,  and  what  service  had  been 
bought  with  that  silver  cup.  The  Paspaheghs  and  I 
were  old  enemies ;  doubtless  they  would  find  their  task 
a  pleasant  one. 

"My  own  knaves,  unfortunately,  were  out  of  the 


IN  WHICH  I  KEEP  TRYST  285 

way ;  sent  home  on  the  Santa  Teresa,"  said  my  lord, 
still  smiling.  "  I  am  not  yet  so  poor  that  I  cannot 
hire  others.  True,  Nicolo  might  have  done  the  work 
just  now,  when  you  bent  over  him  so  lovingly  and 
spoke  so  softly  ;  but  the  river  might  give  up  your  body 
to  tell  strange  tales.  I  have  heard  that  the  Indians 
are  more  ingenious,  and  leave  no  such  witness  any 
where." 

Before  the  words  were  out  of  his  mouth  I  had  sprung 
upon  him,  and  had  caught  him  by  the  sword  wrist  and 
the  throat.  He  strove  to  free  his  hand,  to  withdraw 
himself  from  my  grasp.  Locked  together,  we  struggled 
backward  and  forward  in  what  seemed  a  blaze  of 
lights  and  a  roaring  as  of  mighty  waters.  Bed  hands 
caught  at  me,  sharp  knives  panted  to  drink  my  blood  ; 
but  so  fast  we  turned  and  writhed,  now  he  uppermost, 
now  I,  that  for  very  fear  of  striking  the  wrong  man 
hands  and  knives  could  not  be  bold.  I  heard  Diccon 
fighting,  and  knew  that  there  would  be  howling  to 
morrow  among  the  squaws  of  the  Paspaheghs.  With 
all  his  might  my  lord  strove  to  bend  the  sword  against 
me,  and  at  last  did  cut  me  across  the  arm,  causing  the 
blood  to  flow  freely.  It  made  a  pool  upon  the  floor, 
and  once  my  foot  slipped  in  it,  and  I  stumbled  and 
almost  fell. 

Two  of  the  Paspaheghs  were  silent  for  evermore. 
Diccon  had  the  knife  of  the  first  to  fall,  and  it  ran  red. 
The  Italian,  quick  and  sinuous  as  a  serpent,  kept  be 
side  my  lord  and  me,  striving  to  bring  his  dagger  to 
his  master's  aid.  We  two  panted  hard ;  before  our 
eyes  blood,  within  our  ears  the  sea.  The  noise  of  the 
other  combatants  suddenly  fell.  The  hush  could  only 
mean  that  Diccon  was  dead  or  taken.  I  could  not 
look  behind  to  see.  With  an  access  of  fury  I  drove 


286  TO   HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

my  antagonist  toward  a  corner  of  the  hut,  —  the  cor 
ner,  so  it  chanced,  in  which  the  panther  had  taken  up 
its  quarters.  With  his  heel  he  struck  the  beast  out  of 
his  way,  then  made  a  last  desperate  effort  to  throw  me. 
I  let  him  think  he  was  about  to  succeed,  gathered  my 
forces  and  brought  him  crashing  to  the  ground.  The 
sword  was  in  my  hand  and  shortened,  the  point  was  at 
his  throat,  when  my  arm  was  jerked  backwards.  A 
moment,  and  half  a  dozen  hands  had  dragged  me  from 
the  man  beneath  me,  and  a  supple  savage  had  passed 
a  thong  of  deerskin  around  my  arms  and  pinioned 
them  to  my  sides.  The  game  was  up  ;  there  remained 
only  to  pay  the  forfeit  without  a  grimace. 

Diccon  was  not  dead ;  pinioned,  like  myself,  and 
breathing  hard,  he  leaned  sullenly  against  the  wall, 
they  that  he  had  slain  at  his  feet.  My  lord  rose,  and 
stood  over  against  me.  His  rich  doublet  was  torn  and 
dragged  away  at  the  neck,  and  my  blood  stained  his 
hand  and  arm.  A  smile  was  upon  the  face  that  had 
made  him  master  of  a  kingdom's  master. 

"  The  game  was  long,"  he  said,  "  but  I  have  won  at 
last.  A  long  good-night  to  you,  Captain  Percy,  and  a 
dreamless  sleep ! " 

There  was  a  swift  backward  movement  of  the  In 
dians,  and  a  loud  "  The  panther,  sir  !  Have  a  care  !  " 
from  Diccon.  I  turned.  The  panther,  maddened  by 
the  noise  and  light,  the  shifting  figures,  the  blocked 
doors,  the  sight  and  smell  of  blood,  the  blow  that  had 
been  dealt  it,  was  crouching  for  a  spring.  The  red- 
brown  hair  was  bristling,  the  eyes  were  terrible.  I 
was  before  it,  but  those  glaring  eyes  had  marked  me 
not.  It  passed  me  like  a  bar  from  a  catapult,  and  the 
man  whose  heel  it  had  felt  was  full  in  its  path.  One 
of  its  forefeet  sank  in  the  velvet  of  the  doublet ;  the 


IN  WHICH  I  KEEP  TRYST  287 

claws  of  the  other  entered  the  flesh  below  the  temple, 
and  tore  downwards  and  across.  With  a  cry  as  awful 
as  the  panther's  scream  the  Italian  threw  himself  upon 
the  beast  and  buried  his  poniard  in  its  neck.  The 
panther  and  the  man  it  had  attacked  went  down  to 
gether. 

When  the  Indians  had  unlocked  that  dread  em 
brace  and  had  thrust  aside  the  dead  brute,  there 
emerged  from  the  dimness  of  the  inner  room  Master 
Edward  Sharpless,  gray  with  fear,  trembling  in  every 
limb,  to  take  the  reins  that  had  fallen  from  my  lord's 
hands.  The  King's  minion  lay  in  his  blood,  a  ghastly 
spectacle ;  unconscious  now,  but  with  life  before  him, 
—  life  through  which  to  pass  a  nightmare  vision.  The 
face  out  of  which  had  looked  that  sullen,  proud,  and 
wicked  spirit  had  been  one  of  great  beauty ;  it  had 
brought  him  exceeding  wealth  and  power  beyond  mea 
sure  ;  the  King  had  loved  to  look  upon  it ;  and  it  had 
come  to  this.  He  lived,  and  I  was  to  die :  better  my 
death  than  his  life.  In  every  heart  there  are  dark 
depths,  whence  at  times  ugly  things  creep  into  the  day 
light  ;  but  at  least  I  could  drive  back  that  unmanly 
triumph,  and  bid  it  never  come  again.  I  would  have 
killed  him,  but  I  would  not  have  had  him  thus. 

The  Italian  was  upon  his  knees  beside  his  master: 
even  such  a  creature  could  love.  From  his  skeleton 
throat  came  a  low,  prolonged,  croaking  sound,  and 
his  bony  hands  strove  to  wipe  away  the  blood.  The 
Paspaheghs  drew  around  us  closer  and  closer,  and  the 
werowance  clutched  me  by  the  shoulder.  I  shook 
him  off.  "  Give  the  word,  Sharpless,"  I  said,  "  or 
nod,  if  thou  art  too  frightened  to  speak.  Murder  is 
too  stern  a  stuff  for  such  a  base  kitchen  knave  as 
thou  to  deal  in." 


288  TO   HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

White  and  shaking,  he  would  not  meet  my  eyes,  but 
beckoned  the  werowance  to  him,  and  began  to  whisper 
vehemently ;  pointing  now  to  the  man  upon  the  floor, 
now  to  the  town,  now  to  the  forest.  The  Indian 
listened,  nodded,  and  glided  back  to  his  fellows. 

"  The  white  men  upon  the  Powhatan  are  many,"  he 
said  in  his  own  tongue,  "  but  they  build  not  their  wig 
wams  upon  the  banks  of  the  Pamunkey.1  The  singing 
birds  of  the  Pamunkey  tell  no  tales.  The  pine  splin 
ters  will  burn  as  brightly  there,  and  the  white  men 
will  smell  them  not.  We  will  build  a  fire  at  Uttamus- 
sac,  between  the  red  hills,  before  the  temple  and  the 
graves  of  the  kings."  There  was  a  murmur  of  assent 
from  his  braves. 

Uttamussac!  They  would  probably  make  a  two 
days'  journey  of  it.  We  had  that  long,  then,  to  live. 

Captors  and  captives,  we  presently  left  the  hut.  On 
the  threshold  I  looked  back,  past  the  poltroon  whom 
I  had  flung  into  the  river  one  midsummer  day,  to  that 
prone  and  bleeding  figure.  As  I  looked,  it  groaned 
and  moved.  The  Indians  behind  me  forced  me  on ; 
a  moment,  and  we  were  out  beneath  the  stars.  They 
shone  so  very  brightly ;  there  was  one  —  large,  stead 
fast,  golden  —  just  over  the  dark  town  behind  us,  over 
the  Governor's  house.  Did  she  sleep  or  did  she  wake  ? 
Sleeping  or  waking,  I  prayed  God  to  keep  her  safe 
and  give  her  comfort.  The  stars  now  shone  through 
naked  branches,  black  tree  trunks  hemmed  us  round, 
and  under  our  feet  was  the  dreary  rustling  of  dead 
leaves.  The  leafless  trees  gave  way  to  pines  and 
cedars,  and  the  closely  woven,  scented  roof  hid  the 
iieavens,  and  made  a  darkness  of  the  world  beneath. 

1  The  modern  York. 


CHAPTER  XXX 

IN  WHICH  WE  START  UPON  A  JOURNEY 

WHEN  the  dawn  broke,  it  found  us  traveling 
through  a  narrow  valley,  beside  a  stream  of  some 
width.  Upon  its  banks  grew  trees  of  extraordinary 
height  and  girth ;  cypress  and  oak  and  walnut,  they 
towered  into  the  air,  their  topmost  branches  stark  and 
black  against  the  roseate  heavens.  Below  that  iron 
tracery  glowed  the  firebrands  of  the  maples,  and  here 
and  there  a  willow  leaned  a  pale  green  cloud  above 
the  stream.  Mist  closed  the  distances ;  we  could  hear, 
but  not  see,  the  deer  where  they  stood  to  drink  in  the 
shallow  places,  or  couched  in  the  gray  and  dreamlike 
recesses  of  the  forest. 

Spectral,  unreal,  and  hollow  seems  the  world  at 
dawn.  Then,  if  ever,  the  heart  sickens  and  the  will 
flags,  and  life  becomes  a  pageant  that  hath  ceased  to 
entertain.  As  I  moved  through  the  mist  and  the 
silence,  and  felt  the  tug  of  the  thong  that  bound  me 
to  the  wrist  of  the  savage  who  stalked  before  me,  I 
cared  not  how  soon  they  made  an  end,  seeing  how 
stale  and  unprofitable  were  all  things  under  the  sun. 

Diccon,  walking  behind  me,  stumbled  over  a  root 
and  fell  upon  his  knees,  dragging  down  with  him  the 
Indian  to  whom  he  was  tied.  In  a  sudden  access  of 
fury,  aggravated  by  the  jeers  with  which  his  fellows 
greeted  his  mishap,  the  savage  turned  upon  his  pris 
oner  and  would  have  stuck  a  knife  into  him,  bound 


290  TO   HAVE  AND   TO   HOLD 

and  helpless  as  he  was,  had  not  the  werowance  in 
terfered.  The  momentary  altercation  over,  and  the 
knife  restored  to  its  owner's  belt,  the  Indians  relapsed 
into  their  usual  menacing  silence,  and  the  sullen  march 
was  resumed.  Presently  the  stream  made  a  sharp 
bend  across  our  path,  and  we  forded  it  as  best  we 
might.  It  ran  dark  and  swift,  and  the  water  was  of 
icy  coldness.  Beyond,  the  woods  had  been  burnt,  the 
trees  rising  from  the  red  ground  like  charred  and 
blackened  stakes,  with  the  ghostlike  mist  between. 
We  left  this  dismal  tract  behind,  and  entered  a  wood 
of  mighty  oaks,  standing  well  apart,  and  with  the 
earth  below  carpeted  with  moss  and  early  wild  flowers. 
The  sun  rose,  the  mist  vanished,  and  there  set  in  the 
March  day  of  keen  wind  and  brilliant  sunshine. 

Farther  on,  an  Indian  bent  his  bow  against  a  bear 
shambling  across  a  little  sunny  glade.  The  arrow  did 
its  errand,  and  where  the  creature  fell,  there  we  sat 
down  and  feasted  beside  a  fire  kindled  by  rubbing  two 
sticks  together.  According  to  their  wont  the  Indians 
ate  ravenously,  and  when  the  meal  was  ended  began 
to  smoke,  each  warrior  first  throwing  into  the  air,  as 
thankoffering  to  Kiwassa,  a  pinch  of  tobacco.  They 
all  stared  at  the  fire  around  which  we  sat,  and  the 
silence  was  unbroken.  One  by  one,  as  the  pipes  were 
smoked,  they  laid  themselves  down  upon  the  brown 
leaves  and  went  to  sleep,  only  our  two  guardians  and 
a  third  Indian  over  against  us  remaining  wide-eyed 
and  watchful. 

There  was  no  hope  of  escape,  and  we  entertained  no 
thought  of  it.  Diccon  sat,  biting  his  nails,  staring 
into  the  fire,  and  I  stretched  myself  out,  and  burying 
my  head  in  my  arms  tried  to  sleep,  but  could  not. 

With  the  midday  we  were  afoot  again,  and  we  went 


IN   WHICH  WE  START  UPON  A  JOURNEY    291 

steadily  on  through  the  bright  afternoon.  We  met 
with  no  harsh  treatment  other  than  our  bonds.  In 
stead,  when  our  captors  spoke  to  us,  it  was  with  words 
of  amity  and  smiling  lips.  Who  accounteth  for  In 
dian  fashions  ?  It  is  a  way  they  have,  to  flatter  and 
caress  the  wretch  for  whom  have  been  provided  the 
torments  of  the  damned.  If,  when  at  sunset  we  halted 
for  supper  and  gathered  around  the  fire,  the  wero- 
wance  began  to  tell  of  a  foray  I  had  led  against  the 
Paspaheghs  years  before,  and  if  he  and  his  warriors, 
for  all  the  world  like  generous  foes,  loudly  applauded 
some  daring  that  had  accompanied  that  raid,  none 
the  less  did  the  red  stake  wait  for  us ;  none  the  less 
would  they  strive,  as  for  heaven,  to  wring  from  us 
groans  and  cries. 

The  sun  sank,  and  the  darkness  entered  the  forest. 
In  the  distance  we  heard  the  wolves,  so  the  fire  was 
kept  up  through  the  night.  Diccon  and  I  were  tied 
to  trees,  and  all  the  savages  save  one  lay  down  and 
slept.  I  worked  awhile  at  my  bonds  ;  but  an  Indian 
had  tied  them,  and  after  a  time  I  desisted  from  the 
useless  labor.  We  two  could  have  no  speech  together ; 
the  fire  was  between  us,  and  we  saw  each  other  but 
dimly  through  the  flame  and  wreathing  smoke,  —  as 
each  might  see  the  other  to-morrow.  What  Diccon 's 
thoughts  were  I  know  not;  mine  were  not  of  the 
morrow. 

There  had  been  no  rain  for  a  long  time,  and  the 
multitude  of  leaves  underfoot  were  crisp  and  dry. 
The  wind  was  loud  in  them  and  in  the  swaying  trees. 
Off  in  the  forest  was  a  bog,  and  the  will-o'-the-wisps 
danced  over  it,  —  pale,  cold  flames,  moving  aimlessly 
here  and  there  like  ghosts  of  those  lost  in  the  woods. 
Toward  the  middle  of  the  night  some  heavy  animal 


292  TO   HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

crashed  through  a  thicket  to  the  left  of  us,  and  tore 
away  into  the  darkness  over  the  loud-rustling  leaves ; 
and  later  on  wolves'  eyes  gleamed  from  out  the  ring  of 
darkness  beyond  the  firelight.  Far  on  in  the  night 
the  wind  fell  and  the  moon  rose,  changing  the  forest 
into  some  dim,  exquisite,  far-off  land,  seen  only  in 
dreams.  The  Indians  awoke  silently  and  all  at  once, 
as  at  an  appointed  hour.  They  spoke  for  a  while 
among  themselves ;  then  we  were  loosed  from  the 
trees,  and  the  walk  toward  death  began  anew. 

On  this  march  the  werowance  himself  stalked  be 
side  me,  the  moonlight  whitening  his  dark  limbs  and 
relentless  face.  He  spoke  no  word,  nor  did  I  deign  to 
question  or  reason  or  entreat.  Alike  in  the  darkness 
of  the  deep  woods,  and  in  the  silver  of  the  glades,  and 
in  the  long  twilight  stretches  of  sassafras  and  sighing 
grass,  there  was  for  me  but  one  vision.  Slender  and 
still  and  white,  she  moved  before  me,  with  her  wide 
dark  eyes  upon  my  face.  Jocelyn  !  Jocelyn  ! 

At  sunrise  the  mist  lifted  from  a  low  hill  before 
us,  and  showed  an  Indian  boy,  painted  white,  poised 
upon  the  summit,  like  a  spirit  about  to  take  its  flight. 
He  prayed  to  the  One  over  All,  and  his  voice  came 
down  to  us  pure  and  earnest.  At  sight  of  us  he 
bounded  down  the  hillside  like  a  ball,  and  would  have 
rushed  away  into  the  forest  had  not  a  Paspahegh  start 
ing  out  of  line  seized  him  and  set  him  in  our  midst, 
where  he  stood,  cool  and  undismayed,  a  warrior  in 
miniature.  He  was  of  the  Pamunkeys,  and  his  tribe 
and  the  Paspaheghs  were  at  peace  ;  therefore,  when 
he  saw  the  totem  burnt  upon  the  breast  of  the  wero 
wance,  he  became  loquacious  enough,  and  offered  to  go 
before  us  to  his  village,  upon  the  banks  of  a  stream, 
some  bowshots  away.  He  went,  and  the  Paspaheghs 


IN  WHICH  WE  START  UPON  A  JOURNEY    293 

rested  under  the  trees  until  the  old  men  of  the  village 
came  forth  to  lead  them  through  the  brown  fields  and 
past  the  ring  of  leafless  mulberries  to  the  strangers' 
lodge.  Here  on  the  green  turf  mats  were  laid  for  the 
visitors,  and  water  was  brought  for  their  hands.  Later 
on,  the  women  spread  a  great  breakfast  of  fish  and 
turkey  and  venison,  maize  bread,  tuckahoe  and  po- 
hickory.  When  it  was  eaten,  the  Paspaheghs  ranged 
themselves  in  a  semicircle  upon  the  grass,  the  Pamun- 
keys  faced  them,  and  each  warrior  and  old  man  drew 
out  his  pipe  and  tobacco  pouch.  They  smoked  gravely, 
in  a  silence  broken  only  by  an  occasional  slow  and 
stately  question  or  compliment.  The  blue  incense 
from  the  pipes  mingled  with  the  sunshine  falling  freely 
through  the  bare  branches  ;  the  stream  which  ran  by 
the  lodge  rippled  and  shone,  and  the  wind  rose  and 
fell  in  the  pines  upon  its  farther  bank. 

Diccon  and  I  had  been  freed  for  the  time  from  our 
bonds,  and  placed  in  the  centre  of  this  ring,  and  when 
the  Indians  raised  their  eyes  from  the  ground  it  was  to 
gaze  steadfastly  at  us.  I  knew  their  ways,  and  how 
they  valued  pride,  indifference,  and  a  bravado  disre 
gard  of  the  worst  an  enemy  could  do.  They  should 
not  find  the  white  man  less  proud  than  the  savage. 

They  gave  us  readily  enough  the  pipes  I  asked  for. 
Diccon  lit  one  and  I  the  other,  and  sitting  side  by  side 
we  smoked  in  a  contentment  as  absolute  as  the  In 
dians'  own.  With  his  eyes  upon  the  werowance,  Dic 
con  told  an  old  story  of  a  piece  of  Paspahegh  villainy 
and  of  the  payment  which  the  English  exacted,  and  I 
laughed  as  at  the  most  amusing  thing  in  the  world. 
The  story  ended,  we  smoked  with  serenity  for  a  while  ; 
then  I  drew  my  dice  from  my  pocket,  and,  beginning 
to  throw,  we  were  at  once  as  much  absorbed  in  the 


294  TO  HAVE  AND  TO   HOLD 

game  as  if  there  were  no  other  stake  in  the  world 
beside  the  remnant  of  gold  that  I  piled  between  us. 
The  strange  people  in  whose  power  we  found  ourselves 
looked  on  with  grim  approval,  as  at  brave  men  who 
could  laugh  in  Death's  face. 

The  sun  was  high  in  the  heavens  when  we  bade  the 
Pamunkeys  farewell.  The  cleared  ground,  the  mul 
berry  trees,  and  the  grass  beneath,  the  few  rude  lodges 
with  the  curling  smoke  above  them,  the  warriors  and 
women  and  brown  naked  children,  —  all  vanished,  and 
the  forest  closed  around  us.  A  high  wind  was  blow 
ing,  and  the  branches  far  above  beat  at  one  another 
furiously,  while  the  pendent,  leafless  vines  swayed 
against  us,  and  the  dead  leaves  went  past  in  the  whirl 
wind.  A  monstrous  flight  of  pigeons  crossed  the 
heavens,  flying  from  west  to  east,  and  darkening  the 
land  beneath  like  a  transient  cloud.  We  came  to  a 
plain  covered  with  very  tall  trees  that  had  one  and  all 
been  ringed  by  the  Indians.  Long  dead,  and  partially 
stripped  of  the  bark,  with  their  branches,  great  and 
small,  squandered  upon  the  ground,  they  stood,  gaunt 
and  silver  gray,  ready  for  their  fall.  As  we  passed, 
the  wind  brought  two  crashing  to  the  earth.  In  the 
centre  of  the  plain  something  —  deer  or  wolf  or  bear 
or  man  —  lay  dead,  for  to  that  point  the  buzzards 
were  sweeping  from  every  quarter  of  the  blue.  Be 
yond  was  a  pine  wood,  silent  and  dim,  with  a  high  green 
roof  and  a  smooth  and  scented  floor.  We  walked 
through  it  for  an  hour,  and  it  led  us  to  the  Pamunkey. 
A  tiny  village,  counting  no  more  than  a  dozen  war 
riors,  stood  among  the  pines  that  ran  to  the  water's 
edge,  and  tied  to  the  trees  that  shadowed  the  slow- 
moving  flood  were  its  canoes.  When  the  people  came 
forth  to  meet  us,  the  Paspaheghs  bought  from  them, 


IN  WHICH  WE   START  UPON  A  JOURNEY    295 

for  a  string  of  roanoke,  two  of  these  boats ;  and  we 
made  no  tarrying,  but,  embarking  at  once,  rowed  up 
river  toward  Uttamussac  and  its  three  temples. 

Diccon  and  I  were  placed  in  the  same  canoe.  We 
were  not  bound :  what  need  of  bonds,  when  we  had  no 
friend  nearer  than  the  Powhatan,  and  when  Uttamus 
sac  was  so  near  ?  After  a  time  the  paddles  were  put 
into  our  hands,  and  we  were  required  to  row  while  our 
captors  rested.  There  was  no  use  in  sulkiness;  we 
laughed  as  at  some  huge  jest,  and  bent  to  the  task 
with  a  will  that  sent  our  canoe  well  in  advance  of  its 
mate.  Diccon  burst  into  an  old  song  that  we  had  sung 
in  the  Low  Countries,  by  camp  fires,  on  the  march, 
before  the  battle.  The  forest  echoed  to  the  loud  and 
warlike  tune,  and  a  multitude  of  birds  rose  startled 
from  the  trees  upon  the  bank.  The  Indians  frowned, 
and  one  in  the  boat  behind  called  out  to  strike  the  singer 
upon  the  mouth ;  but  the  werowance  shook  his  head. 
There  were  none  upon  that  river  who  might  not  know 
that  the  Paspaheghs  journeyed  to  Uttamussac  with 
prisoners  in  their  midst.  Diccon  sang  on,  his  head 
thrown  back,  the  old  bold  laugh  in  his  eyes.  When 
he  came  to  the  chorus  I  joined  my  voice  to  his,  and 
the  woodland  rang  to  the  song.  A  psalm  had  better 
befitted  our  lips  than  those  rude  and  vaunting  words, 
seeing  that  we  should  never  sing  again  upon  this 
earth ;  but  at  least  we  sang  bravely  and  gayly,  with 
minds  that  were  reasonably  quiet. 

The  sun  dropped  low  in  the  heavens,  and  the  trees 
cast  shadows  across  the  water.  The-  Paspaheghs  now 
began  to  recount  the  entertainment  they  meant  to  offer 
us  in  the  morning.  All  those  tortures  that  they  were 
wont  to  practice  with  hellish  ingenuity  they  told  over, 
slowly  and  tauntingly,  watching  to  see  a  lip  whiten  or 


296  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

an  eyelid  quiver.  They  boasted  that  they  would  make 
women  of  us  at  the  stake.  At  all  events,  they  made 
not  women  of  us  beforehand.  We  laughed  as  we 
rowed,  and  Diccon  whistled  to  the  leaping  fish,  and 
the  fish-hawk,  and  the  otter  lying  along  a  fallen  tree 
beneath  the  bank. 

The  sunset  came,  and  the  river  lay  beneath  the 
colored  clouds  like  molten  gold,  with  the  gaunt  forest 
black  upon  either  hand.  From  the  lifted  paddles 
the  water  showered  in  golden  drops.  The  wind  died 
away,  and  with  it  all  noises,  and  a  dank  stillness 
settled  upon  the  flood  and  upon  the  endless  forest. 
We  were  nearing  Uttamussac,  and  the  Indians  rowed 
quietly,  with  bent  heads  and  fearful  glances ;  for  Okee 
brooded  over  this  place,  and  he  might  be  angry.  It 
grew  colder  and  stiller,  but  the  light  dwelt  in  the 
heavens,  and  was  reflected  in  the  bosom  of  the  river. 
The  trees  upon  the  southern  bank  were  all  pines ;  as 
if  they  had  been  carved  from  black  stone  they  stood 
rigid  against  the  saffron  sky.  Presently,  back  from 
the  shore,  there  rose  before  us  a  few  small  hills,  tree 
less,  but  covered  with  some  low,  dark  growth.  The 
one  that  stood  the  highest  bore  upon  its  crest  three 
black  houses  shaped  like  coffins.  Behind  them  was 
the  deep  yellow  of  the  sunset. 

An  Indian  rowing  in  the  second  canoe  commenced 
a  chant  or  prayer  to  Okee.  The  notes  were  low  and 
broken,  unutterably  wild  and  melancholy.  One  by 
one  his  fellows  took  up  the  strain  ;  it  swelled  higher, 
louder,  and  sterner,  became  a  deafening  cry,  then 
ceased  abruptly,  making  the  stillness  that  followed 
like  death  itself.  Both  canoes  swung  round  from 
the  middle  stream  and  made  for  the  bank.  When 
the  boats  had  slipped  from  the  stripe  of  gold  into  the 


IN  WHICH  WE  START  UPON  A  JOURNEY    297 

inky  shadow  of  the  pines,  the  Paspaheghs  began  to 
divest  themselves  of  this  or  that  whicn  they  conceived 
Okee  might  desire  to  possess.  One  flung  into  the 
stream  a  handful  of  copper  links,  another  the  chaplet 
of  feathers  from  his  head,  a  third  a  bracelet  of  blue 
beads.  The  werowance  drew  out  the  arrows  from  a 
gaudily  painted  and  beaded  quiver,  stuck  them  into 
his  belt,  and  dropped  the  quiver  into  the  water. 

We  landed,  dragging  the  canoes  into  a  covert  of 
overhanging  bushes  and  fastening  them  there ;  then 
struck  through  the  pines  toward  the  rising  ground,  and 
presently  came  to  a  large  village,  with  many  long 
huts,  and  a  great  central  lodge  where  dwelt  the  em 
perors  when  they  came  to  Uttamussac.  It  was  vacant 
now,  Opechancanough  being  no  man  knew  where. 

When  the  usual  stately  welcome  had  been  extended 
to  the  Paspaheghs,  and  when  they  had  returned  as 
stately  thanks,  the  werowance  began  a  harangue  for 
which  I  furnished  the  matter.  When  he  ceased  to 
speak  a  great  acclamation  and  tumult  arose,  and  I 
thought  they  would  scarce  wait  for  the  morrow.  But 
it  was  late,  and  their  werowance  and  conjurer  restrained 
them.  In  the  end  the  men  drew  off,  and  the  yelling 
of  the  children  and  the  passionate  cries  of  the  women, 
importunate  for  vengeance,  were  stilled.  A  guard 
was  placed  around  the  vacant  lodge,  and  we  two 
Englishmen  were  taken  within  and  bound  down  to 
great  logs,  such  as  the  Indians  use  to  roll  against  their 
doors  when  they  go  from  home. 

There  was  revelry  in  the  village  ;  for  hours  after 
the  night  came,  everywhere  were  bright  firelight  and 
the  rise  and  fall  of  laughter  and  song.  The  voices 
of  the  women  were  musical,  tender,  and  plaintive, 
and  yet  they  waited  for  the  morrow  as  for  a  gala  day. 


298  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

I  thought  of  a  woman  who  used  to  sing,  softly  and 
sweetly,  in  the  twilight  at  Weyanoke,  in  the  firelight 
at  the  minister's  house.  At  last  the  noises  ceased,  the 
light  died  away,  and  the  village  slept  beneath  a  heaven 
that  seemed  somewhat  deaf  and  blind. 


CHAPTER   XXXI 
IN  WHICH  NANTAUQTJAS   COMES   TO   OUR  RESCUE 

A  MAN  who  hath  been  a  soldier  and  an  adventurer 
into  far  and  strange  countries  must  needs  have  faced 
Death  many  times  and  in  many  guises.  I  had  learned 
to  know  that  grim  countenance,  and  to  have  no  great 
fear  of  it.  And  beneath  the  ugliness  of  the  mask  that 
now  presented  itself  there  was  only  Death  at  last.  I 
was  no  babe  to  whimper  at  a  sudden  darkness,  to 
cry  out  against  a  curtain  that  a  Hand  chose  to  drop 
between  me  and  the  life  I  had  lived.  Death  frighted 
me  not,  but  when  I  thought  of  one  whom  I  should 
leave  behind  me  I  feared  lest  I  should  go  mad.  Had 
this  thing  come  to  me  a  year  before,  I  could  have  slept 
the  night  through  ;  now  —  now  — 

I  lay,  bound  to  the  log,  before  the  open  door  of  the 
lodge,  and,  looking  through  it,  saw  the  pines  waving  in 
the  night  wind  and  the  gleam  of  the  river  beneath  the 
stars,  and  saw  her  as  plainly  as  though  she  had  stood 
there  under  the  trees,  in  a  flood  of  noon  sunshine. 
Now  she  was  the  Jocelyn  Percy  of  Weyanoke,  now  of 
the  minister's  house,  now  of  a  storm-tossed  boat  and 
a  pirate  ship,  now  of  the  gaol  at  Jamestown.  One 
of  my  arms  was  free ;  I  could  take  from  within  my 
doublet  the  little  purple  flower,  and  drop  my  face  upon 
the  hand  that  held  it.  The  bloom  was  quite  withered, 
and  scalding  tears  would  not  give  it  life  again. 

The  face  that  was  now  gay,  now  defiant,  now  pale 


300  TO   HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

and  suffering,  became  steadfastly  the  face  that  had 
leaned  upon  my  breast  in  the  Jamestown  gaol,  and 
looked  at  me  with  a  mournful  brightness  of  love  and 
sorrow.  Spring  was  in  the  land,  and  the  summer 
would  come,  but  not  to  us.  I  stretched  forth  my  Hand 
to  the  wife  who  was  not  there,  and  my  heart  lay 
crushed  within  me.  She  had  been  my  wife  not  a  year ; 
it  was  but  the  other  day  that  I  knew  she  loved  me  — 

After  a  while  the  anguish  lessened,  and  I  lay,  dull 
and  hopeless,  thinking  of  trifling  things,  counting  the 
stars  between  the  pines.  Another  slow  hour,  and,  a 
braver  mood  coming  upon  me,  I  thought  of  Diccon, 
who  was  in  that  plight  because  of  me,  and  spoke  to 
him,  asking  him  how  he  did.  He  answered  from  the 
other  side  of  the  lodge,  but  the  words  were  scarcely 
out  of  his  mouth  before  our  guard  broke  in  upon  us 
commanding  silence.  Diccon  cursed  them,  whereupon 
a  savage  struck  him  across  the  head  with  the  handle  of 
a  tomahawk,  stunning  him  for  a  time.  As  soon  as  I 
heard  him  move  I  spoke  again,  to  know  if  he  were 
much  hurt ;  when  he  had  answered  in  the  negative  we 
said  no  more. 

It  was  now  moonlight  without  the  lodge  and  very 
quiet.  The  night  was  far  gone ;  already  we  could 
smell  the  morning,  and  it  would  come  apace.  Know 
ing  the  swiftness  of  that  approach,  and  what  the  early 
light  would  bring,  I  strove  for  a  courage  which  should 
be  the  steadfastness  of  the  Christian,  and  not  the 
vainglorious  pride  of  the  heathen.  If  my  thoughts 
wandered,  if  her  face  would  come  athwart  the  verses 
I  tried  to  remember,  the  prayer  I  tried  to  frame, 
perhaps  He  who  made  her  lovely  understood  and 
forgave.  I  said  the  prayer  I  used  to  say  when  I  was 
a  child,  and  wished  with  all  my  heart  for  Jeremy. 


NANTAUQUAS  COMES  TO   OUR  RESCUE     301 

Suddenly,  in  the  first  gray  dawn,  as  at  a  trumpet's 
call,  the  village  awoke.  From  the  long,  communal 
houses  poured  forth  men,  women,  and  children ;  fires 
sprang  up,  dispersing  the  mist,  and  a  commotion  arose 
through  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  place.  The 
women  made  haste  with  their  cooking,  and  bore  maize 
cakes  and  broiled  fish  to  the  warriors  who  sat  on  the 
ground  in  front  of  the  royal  lodge.  Diccon  and  I 
were  loosed,  brought  without,  and  allotted  our  share 
of  the  food.  We  ate  sitting  side  by  side  with  our 
captors,  and  Diccon,  with  a  great  cut  across  his  head, 
seized  the  Indian  girl  who  brought  him  his  platter 
of  fish,  and  pulling  her  down  beside  him  kissed  her 
soundly,  whereat  the  maid  seemed  not  ill  pleased  and 
the  warriors  laughed. 

In  the  usual  order  of  things,  the  meal  over,  tobacco 
should  have  followed.  But  now  not  a  pipe  was  lit,  and 
the  women  made  haste  to  take  away  the  platters  and 
to  get  all  things  in  readiness.  The  werowance  of  the 
Paspaheghs  rose  to  his  feet,  cast  aside  his  mantle,  and 
began  to  speak.  He  was  a  man  in  the  prime  of  life, 
of  a  great  figure,  strong  as  a  Susquehannock,  and  a 
savage  cruel  and  crafty  beyond  measure.  Over  his 
breast,  stained  with  strange  figures,  hung  a  chain  of 
small  bones,  and  the  scalp  locks  of  his  enemies  fringed 
his  moccasins.  His  tribe  being  the  nearest  to  James 
town,  and  in  frequent  altercation  with  us,  I  had  heard 
him  speak  many  times,  and  knew  his  power  over  the 
passions  of  his  people.  No  player  could  be  more  skill 
ful  in  gesture  and  expression,  no  poet  more  nice  in  the 
choice  of  words,  no  general  more  quick  to  raise  a  wild 
enthusiasm  in  the  soldiers  to  whom  he  called.  All 
Indians  are  eloquent,  but  this  savage  was  a  leader 
among  them. 


302  TO   HAVE   AND  TO  HOLD 

He  spoke  now  to  some  effect.  Commencing  with  a 
day  in  the  moon  of  blossoms  when  for  the  first  time 
winged  canoes  brought  white  men  into  the  Powhatan, 
he  came  down  through  year  after  year  to  the  present 
hour,  ceased,  and  stood  in  silence,  regarding  his  tri 
umph.  It  was  complete.  In  its  wild  excitement  the 
village  was  ready  then  and  there  to  make  an  end  of 
us  who  had  sprung  to  our  feet  and  stood  with  our 
backs  against  a  great  bay  tree,  facing  the  maddened 
throng.  So  much  the  best  for  us  would  it  be  if  the 
tomahawks  left  the  hands  that  were  drawn  back  to 
throw,  if  the  knives  that  were  flourished  in  our  faces 
should  be  buried  to  the  haft  in  our  hearts,  that  we 
courted  death,  striving  with  word  and  look  to  infuriate 
our  executioners  to  the  point  of  forgetting  their  former 
purpose  in  the  lust  for  instant  vengeance.  It  was  not 
to  be.  The  werowance  spoke  again,  pointing  to  the 
hills  with  the  black  houses  upon  them,  dimly  seen 
through  the  mist.  A  moment,  and  the  hands  clenched 
upon  the  weapons  fell;  another,  and  we  were  upon 
the  march. 

As  one  man,  the  village  swept  through  the  forest 
toward  the  rising  ground  that  was  but  a  few  bowshots 
away.  The  young  men  bounded  ahead  to  make  pre 
paration  ;  but  the  approved  warriors  and  the  old  men 
went  more  sedately,  and  with  them  walked  Diccon  and 
I,  as  steady  of  step  as  they.  The  women  and  children 
for  the  most  part  brought  up  the  rear,  though  a  few 
impatient  hags  ran  past  us,  calling  the  men  tortoises 
who  would  never  reach  the  goal.  One  of  these  women 
bore  a  great  burning  torch,  the  flame  and  smoke 
streaming  over  her  shoulder  as  she  ran.  Others  car 
ried  pieces  of  bark  heaped  with  the  slivers  of  pine  of 
which  every  wigwam  has  store. 


NANTAUQUAS  COMES  TO  OUR  RESCUE     303 

The  sun  was  yet  to  rise  when  we  reached  a  hollow 
amongst  the  low  red  hills.  Above  us  were  the  three 
long  houses  in  which  they  keep  the  image  of  Okee  and 
the  mummies  of  their  kings.  These  temples  faced 
the  crimson  east,  and  the  mist  was  yet  about  them. 
Hideous  priests,  painted  over  with  strange  devices,  the 
stuffed  skins  of  snakes  knotted  about  their  heads,  in 
their  hands  great  rattles  which  they  shook  vehemently, 
rushed  through  the  doors  and  down  the  bank  to  meet 
us,  and  began  to  dance  around  us,  contorting  their 
bodies,  throwing  up  their  arms,  and  making  a  hellish 
noise.  Diccon  stared  at  them,  shrugged  his  shoulders, 
and  with  a  grunt  of  contempt  sat  down  upon  a  fallen 
tree  to  watch  the  enemy's  manoeuvres. 

The  place  was  a  natural  amphitheatre,  well  fitted  for 
a  spectacle.  Those  Indians  who  could  not  crowd  into 
the  narrow  level  spread  themselves  over  the  rising 
ground,  and  looked  down  with  fierce  laughter  upon 
the  driving  of  the  stakes  which  the  young  men  brought. 
The  women  and  children  scattered  into  the  woods  be 
yond  the  cleft  between  the  hills,  and  returned  bearing 
great  armfuls  of  dry  branches.  The  hollow  rang  to 
the  exultation  of  the  playgoers.  Taunting  laughter, 
cries  of  savage  triumph,  the  shaking  of  the  rattles,  and 
the  furious  beating  of  two  great  drums  combined  to 
make  a  clamor  deafening  to  stupor.  And  above  the 
hollow  was  the  angry  reddening  of  the  heavens,  and 
the  white  mist  curling  up  like  smoke. 

I  sat  down  beside  Diccon  on  the  log.  Beneath  it 
there  were  growing  tufts  of  a  pale  blue,  slender- 
stemmed  flower.  I  plucked  a  handful  of  the  blos 
soms,  and  thought  how  blue  they  would  look  against 
the  whiteness  of  her  hand ;  then  dropped  them  in  a 
sudden  shame  that  in  that  hour  I  was  so  little  steadfast 


304  TO  HAVE  AND   TO   HOLD 

t©  things  which  were  not  of  earth.  I  did  not  speak 
to  Diccon,  nor  he  to  me.  There  seemed  no  need  of 
speech.  In  the  pandemonium  to  which  the  world  had 
narrowed,  the  one  familiar,  matter-of-course  thing  was 
that  he  and  I  were  to  die  together. 

The  stakes  were  in  the  ground  and  painted  red,  the 
wood  properly  arranged.  The  Indian  woman  who 
held  the  torch  that  was  to  light  the  pile  ran  past  us, 
whirling  the  wood  around  her  head  to  make  it  blaze 
more  fiercely.  As  she  went  by  she  lowered  the  brand 
and  slowly  dragged  it  across  my  wrists.  The  beating 
of  the  drums  suddenly  ceased,  and  the  loud  voices  died 
away.  To  Indians  no  music  is  so  sweet  as  the  cry  of 
an  enemy ;  if  they  have  wrung  it  from  a  brave  man 
who  has  striven  to  endure,  so  much  the  better.  They 
were  very  still  now,  because  they  would  not  lose  so 
much  as  a  drawing  in  of  the  breath. 

Seeing  that  they  were  coming  for  us,  Diccon  and  I 
rose  to  await  them.  When  they  were  nearly  upon  us 
I  turned  to  him  and  held  out  my  hand. 

He  made  no  motion  to  take  it.  Instead  he  stood 
with  fixed  eyes  looking  past  me  and  slightly  upwards. 
A  sudden  pallor  had  overspread  the  bronze  of  his  face. 
"  There  's  a  verse  somewhere,"  he  said  in  a  quiet  voice, 
— "  it 's  in  the  Bible,  I  think,  —  I  heard  it  once  long 
ago,  before  I  was  lost :  '  I  will  look  unto  the  hills 
from  whence  cometh  my  help  '  —  Look,  sir !  " 

I  turned  and  followed  with  my  eyes  the  pointing  of 
his  finger.  In  front  of  us  the  bank  rose  steeply,  bare 
to  the  summit,  —  no  trees,  only  the  red  earth,  with 
here  and  there  a  low  growth  of  leafless  bushes.  Be 
hind  it  was  the  eastern  sky.  Upon  the  crest,  against 
the  sunrise,  stood  the  figure  of  a  man,  —  an  Indian. 
From  one  shoulder  hung  an  otterskin,  and  a  great  bow 


NANTAUQUAS  COMES  TO  OUft  RESCUE     305 

was  in  his  hand.  His  limbs  were  bare,  and  as  he 
stood  motionless,  bathed  in  the  rosy  light,  he  looked 
like  some  bronze  god,  perfect  from  the  beaded  moc 
casins  to  the  calm,  uneager  face  below  the  feathered 
headdress.  He  had  but  just  risen  above  the  brow  of 
the  hill ;  the  Indians  in  the  hollow  saw  him  not. 

While  Diccon  and  I  stared  our  tormentors  were 
upon  us.  They  came  a  dozen  or  more  at  once,  and 
we  had  no  weapons.  Two  hung  upon  my  arms,  while 
a  third  laid  hold  of  my  doublet  to  rend  it  from  me. 
An  arrow  whistled  over  our  heads  and  stuck  into  a 
tree  behind  us.  The  hands  that  clutched  me  dropped, 
and  with  a  yell  the  busy  throng  turned  their  faces  in 
the  direction  whence  had  come  the  arrow. 

The  Indian  who  had  sent  that  dart  before  him  was 
descending  the  bank.  An  instant's  breathless  hush 
while  they  stared  at  the  solitary  figure ;  then  the  dark 
forms  bent  forward  for  the  rush  straightened,  and  there 
arose  a  loud  cry  of  recognition.  "  The  son  of  Pow- 
hatan !  The  son  of  Powhatan  !  " 

He  came  down  the  hillside  to  the  level  of  the  hol 
low,  the  authority  of  his  look  and  gesture  making  way 
for  him  through  the  crowd  that  surged  this  way  and 
that,  and  walked  up  to  us  where  we  stood,  hemmed 
round,  but  no  longer  in  the  clutch  of  our  enemies. 
"  It  was  a  very  big  wolf  this  time,  Captain  Percy,"  he 
said. 

"You  were  never  more  welcome,  Nantauquas,"  I 
answered,  —  "  unless,  indeed,  the  wolf  intends  making 
a  meal  of  three  instead  of  two." 

He  smiled.  "  The  wolf  will  go  hungry  to-day." 
Taking  my  hand  in  his  he  turned  to  his  frowning 
countrymen.  "  Men  of  the  Pamunkeys !  "  he  cried. 
"  This  is  Nantauquas'  friend,  and  so  the  friend  of  all 


306  TO  HAVE  AND  TO   HOLD 

the  tribes  that  called  Powhatan  4  father.'  The  fire  is 
not  for  him  nor  for  his  servant ;  keep  it  for  the  Mo- 
nacans  and  for  the  dogs  of  the  Long  House !  The 
calumet  is  for  the  friend  of  Nantauquas,  and  the  dance 
of  the  maidens,  the  noblest  buck  and  the  best  of  the 
weirs  "  — 

There  was  a  surging  forward  of  the  Indians,  and  a 
fierce  murmur  of  dissent.  The  werowance,  standing 
out  from  the  throng,  lifted  his  voice.  "  There  was  a 
time,"  he  cried,  "  when  Nantauquas  was  the  panther 
crouched  upon  the  bough  above  the  leader  of  the 
herd ;  now  Nantauquas  is  a  tame  panther  and  rolls  at 
the  white  men's  feet !  There  was  a  time  when  the 
word  of  the  son  of  Powhatan  weighed  more  than  the 
lives  of  many  dogs  such  as  these,  but  now  I  know  not 
why  we  should  put  out  the  fire  at  his  command !  He 
is  war  chief  no  longer,  for  Opechancanough  will  have 
no  tame  panther  to  lead  the  tribes.  Opechancanough 
is  our  head,  and  Opechancanough  kindleth  a  fire  in 
deed  !  We  will  give  to  this  one  what  fuel  we  choose, 
and  to-night  Nantauquas  may  look  for  the  bones  of 
the  white  men  !  " 

He  ended,  and  a  great  clamor  arose.  The  Paspa- 
heghs  would  have  cast  themselves  upon  us  again  but 
for  a  sudden  action  of  the  young  chief,  who  had  stood 
motionless,  with  raised  head  and  unmoved  face,  during 
the  werowance's  bitter  speech.  Now  he  flung  up  his 
hand,  and  in  it  was  a  bracelet  of  gold  carved  and 
twisted  like  a  coiled  snake  and  set  with  a  green  stone. 
I  had  never  seen  the  toy  before,  but  evidently  others 
had  done  so.  The  excited  voices  fell,  and  the  Indians, 
Pamunkeys  and  Paspaheghs  alike,  stood  as  though 
turned  to  stone. 

Nantauquas  smiled  coldly.     "  This  day  hath  Ope- 


NANTAUQUAS  COMES  TO   OUR  RESCUE     307 

chancanough  made  me  war  chief  again.  We  have 
smoked  the  peace  pipe  together  —  my  father's  brother 
and  I  —  in  the  starlight,  sitting  before  his  lodge,  with 
the  wide  marshes  and  the  river  dark  at  our  feet. 
Singing  birds  in  the  forest  have  been  many;  evil 
tales  have  they  told;  Opechancanough  has  stopped 
his  ears  against  their  false  singing.  My  friends  are 
his  friends,  my  brother  is  his  brother,  my  word  is  his 
word :  witness  the  armlet  that  hath  no  like ;  that 
Opechancanough  brought  with  him  when  he  came 
from  no  man  knows  where  to  the  land  of  the  Powha- 
tans,  many  Huskanawings  ago  ;  that  no  white  men  but 
these  have  ever  seen.  Opechancanough  is  at  hand  ;  he 
comes  through  the  forest  with  his  two  hundred  war 
riors  that  are  as  tall  as  Susquehannocks,  and  as  brave 
as  the  children  of  Wahunsonacock.  He  comes  to  the 
temples  to  pray  to  Kiwassa  for  a  great  hunting.  Will 
you,  when  you  lie  at  his  feet,  that  he  ask  you, '  Where 
is  the  friend  of  my  friend,  of  my  war  chief,  of  the 
Panther  who  is  one  with  me  again  ? ' ' 

There  came  a  long,  deep  breath  from  the  Indians, 
then  a  silence,  in  which  they  fell  back,  slowly  and 
sullenly  ;  whipped  hounds,  but  with  the  will  to  break 
that  leash  of  fear. 

"  Hark  !  "  said  Nantauquas,  smiling.  "  I  hear 
Opechancanough  and  his  warriors  coming  over  the 
leaves." 

The  noise  of  many  footsteps  was  indeed  audible, 
coming  toward  the  hollow  from  the  woods  beyond. 
With  a  burst  of  cries,  the  priests  and  the  cdhjurer 
whirled  away  to  bear  the  welcome  of  Okee  to  the 
royal  worshiper,  and  at  their  heels  went  the  chief  men 
of  the  Pamunkeys.  The  werowance  of  the  Paspa- 
heghs  was  one  that  sailed  with  the  wiijcl ;  he  listened 


308  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

to  the  deepening  sound,  and  glanced  at  the  son  of 
Powhatan  where  he  stood,  calm  and  confident,  then 
smoothed  his  own  countenance  and  made  a  most  pa* 
cific  speech,  in  which  all  the  blame  of  the  late  proceed 
ings  was  laid  upon  the  singing  birds.  When  he  had 
done  speaking,  the  young  men  tore  the  stakes  from 
the  earth  and  threw  them  into  a  thicket,  while  the 
women  plucked  apart  the  newly  kindled  fire  and  flung 
the  brands  into  a  little  near-by  stream,  where  they 
went  out  in  a  cloud  of  hissing  steam. 

I  turned  to  the  Indian  who  had  wrought  this  mira 
cle.  "Art  sure  it  is  not  a  dream,  Nantauquas?"  I 
said.  "  I  think  that  Opechancanough  would  not  lift 
a  finger  to  save  me  from  all  the  deaths  the  tribes 
could  invent." 

"  Opechancanough  is  very  wise,"  he  answered 
quietly.  "  He  says  that  now  the  English  will  believe 
in  his  love  indeed  when  they  see  that  he  holds  dear 
even  one  who  might  be  called  his  enemy,  who  hath 
spoken  against  him  at  the  Englishmen's  council  fire. 
He  says  that  for  five  suns  Captain  Percy  shall  feast 
with  Opechancanough,  and  that  then  he  shall  be  sent 
back  free  to  Jamestown.  He  thinks  that  then  Cap 
tain  Percy  will  not  speak  against  him  any  more,  call 
ing  his  love  to  the  white  men  only  words  with  no  good 
deeds  behind." 

He  spoke  simply,  out  of  the  nobility  of  his  nature, 
believing  his  own  speech.  I  that  was  older,  and  had 
more  knowledge  of  men  and  the  masks  that  they 
wear,  was  but  half  deceived.  My  belief  in  the  hatred 
of  the  dark  Emperor  was  not  shaken,  and  I  looked 
yet  to  find  the  drop  of  poison  within  this  honey  flower. 
How  poisoned  was  that  bloom  God  knows  I  could  not 
guess  I 


NANTAUQUAS  COMES  TO  OUR  RESCUE     309 

"  When  you  were  missed,  three  suns  ago,"  Nantau- 
quas  went  on,  "  I  and  my  brother  tracke,d  you  to  the 
hut  beside  the  forest,  where  we  found  only  the  dead 
panther.  There  we  struck  the  trail  of  the  Paspa- 
heghs  ;  but  presently  we  came  to  running  water,  and 
the  trail  was  gone." 

"  We  walked  up  the  bed  of  the  stream  for  half  the 
night,"  I  said. 

The  Indian  nodded.  "  I  know.  My  brother  went 
back  to  Jamestown  for  men  and  boats  and  guns  to  go 
to  the  Paspahegh  village  and  up  the  Powhatan.  He 
was  wise  with  the  wisdom  of  the  white  men,  but  I, 
who  needed  no  gun,  and  who  would  not  fight  against 
my  own  people,  I  stepped  into  the  stream  and  walked 
up  it  until  past  the  full  sun  power.  Then  I  found  a 
broken  twig  and  the  print  of  a  moccasin,  half  hidden 
by  a  bush,  overlooked  when  the  other  prints  were 
smoothed  away.  I  left  the  stream  and  followed  the 
trail  until  it  was  broken  again.  I  looked  for  it  no 
more  then,  for  I  knew  that  the  Paspaheghs  had  turned 
theifr  faces  toward  Uttamussac,  and  that  they  would 
make  a  fire  where  many  others  had  been  made,  in  the 
hollow  below  the  three  temples.  Instead  I  went  with 
speed  to  seek  Opechancanough.  Yesterday,  when  the 
sun  was  low,  I  found  him,  sitting  in  his  lodge  above 
the  marshes  and  the  colored  river.  We  smoked  the 
peace  pipe  together,  and  I  am  his  war  chief  again. 
I  asked  for  the  green  stone,  that  I  might  show  it  to 
the  Paspaheghs  for  a  sign.  He  gave  it,  but  he  willed 
to  come  to  Uttamussac  with  me." 

"  I  owe  you  my  life,"  I  said,  with  my  hand  upon 
his.  "  I  and  Diccon  "  — 

What  I  would  have  said  he  put  aside  with  a  fine 
gesture.  "  Captain  Percy  is  my  friend.  My  brother 


310  TO   HAVE  AND  TO   HOLD 

loves  him,  and  he  was  kind  to  Matoax  when  she  was 
brought  prisoner  to  Jamestown.  I  am  glad  that  I 
could  pull  off  this  wolf." 

"  Tell  me  one  thing,"  I  asked.  "  Before  you  left 
Jamestown,  had  you  heard  aught  of  my  wife  or  of  my 
enemy  ?  " 

He  shook  his  head.  "  At  sunrise,  the  commander 
came  to  rouse  my  brother,  crying  out  that  you  had 
broken  gaol  and  were  nowhere  to  be  found,  and  that 
the  man  you  hate  was  lying  within  the  guest  house, 
sorely  torn  by  some  beast  of  the  forest.  My  brother 
and  I  followed  your  trail  at  once  ;  the  town  was  scarce 
awake  when  we  left  it  behind  us,  —  and  I  did  not 
return." 

By  this  we  three  were  alone  in  the  hollow,  for  all 
the  savages,  men  and  women,  had  gone  forth  to  meet 
the  Indian  whose  word  was  law  from  the  falls  of  the  far 
west  to  the  Chesapeake.  The  sun  now  rode  above  the 
low  hills,  pouring  its  gold  into  the  hollow  and  bright 
ening  all  the  world  besides.  The  little  stream  flashed 
diamonds,  and  the  carven  devils  upon  the  black  houses 
above  us  were  frightful  no  longer.  There  was  not  a 
menace  anywhere  from  the  cloudless  skies  to  the  sweet 
and  plaintive  chant  to  Kiwassa,  sung  by  women  and 
floating  to  us  from  the  woods  beyond  the  hollow. 
The  singing  grew  nearer,  and  the  rustling  of  the  leaves 
beneath  many  feet  more  loud  and  deep  ;  then  all  noise 
ceased,  and  Opechancanough  entered  the  hollow  alone. 
An  eagle  feather  was  thrust  through  his  scalp  lock ; 
over  his  naked  breast,  that  was  neither  painted  nor 
pricked  into  strange  figures,  hung  a  triple  row  of 
pearls  ;  his  mantle  was  woven  of  bluebird  feathers,  as 
soft  and  sleek  as  satin.  The  face  of  this  barbarian 
was  dark,  cold,  and  impassive  as  death.  Behind  that 


NANTAUQUAS  COMES  TO  OUR  RESCUE     311 

changeless  mask,  as  in  a  safe  retreat,  the  supersubtle 
devil  that  was  the  man  might  plot  destruction  and 
plan  the  laying  of  dreadful  mines.  He  had  dignity 
and  courage,  —  no  man  denied  him  that.  I  suppose 
he  thought  that  he  and  his  had  wrongs  :  God  knows  ! 
perhaps  they  had.  But  if  ever  we  were  hard  or  unjust 
in  our  dealings  with  the  savages,  —  I  say  not  that 
this  was  the  case,  —  at  least  we  were  not  treacherous 
and  dealt  not  in  Judas  kisses. 

I  stepped  forward,  and  met  him  on  the  spot  where 
the  fire  had  been.  For  a  minute  neither  spoke.  It 
was  true  that  I  had  striven  against  him  many  a  time, 
and  I  knew  that  he  knew  it.  It  was  also  true  that 
without  his  aid  Nantauquas  could  not  have  rescued  us 
from  that  dire  peril.  And  it  was  again  the  truth  that 
an  Indian  neither  forgives  nor  forgets.  He  was  my 
saviour,  and  I  knew  that  mercy  had  been  shown  for 
some  dark  reason  which  I  could  not  divine.  Yet  I 
owed  him  thanks,  and  gave  them  as  shortly  and  sim 
ply  as  I  could. 

He  heard  me  out  with  neither  liking  nor  disliking 
nor  any  other  emotion  written  upon  his  face;  but 
when  I  had  finished,  as  though  he  suddenly  bethought 
himself,  he  smiled  and  held  out  his  hand,  white- 
man  fashion.  Now,  when  a  man's  lips  widen  I  look 
into  his  eyes.  The  eyes  of  Opechancanough  were  as 
fathomless  as  a  pool  at  midnight,  and  as  devoid  of 
mirth  or  friendliness  as  the  staring  orbs  of  the  carven 
imps  upon  the  temple  corners. 

"  Singing  birds  have  lied  to  Captain  Percy,"  he 
said,  and  his  voice  was  like  his  eyes.  "  Opechanca 
nough  thinks  that  Captain  Percy  will  never  listen  to 
them  again.  The  chief  of  the  Powhatans  is  a  lover 
of  the  white  men,  of  the  English,  and  of  other  white 


312  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

men,  —  if  there  are  others.  He  would  call  the  Eng 
lishmen  his  brothers,  and  be  taught  of  them  how  to 
rule,  and  who  to  pray  to  "  — 

"  Let  Opechancanough  go  with  me  to-day  to  James 
town,"  I  said.  "  He  hath  the  wisdom  of  the  woods  ; 
let  him  come  and  gain  that  of  the  town." 

The  Emperor  smiled  again.  "  I  will  come  to  James 
town  soon,  but  not  to-day  nor  to-morrow  nor  the  next 
day.  And  Captain  Percy  must  smoke  the  peace  pipe 
in  my  lodge  above  the  Pamunkey,  and  watch  my 
young  men  and  maidens  dance,  and  eat  with  me  five 
days.  Then  he  may  go  back  to  Jamestown  with 
presents  for  the  great  white  father  there,  and  with 
a  message  that  Opechancanough  is  coming  soon  to 
learn  of  the  white  men." 

I  could  have  gnashed  my  teeth  at  that  delay  when 
she  must  think  me  dead,  but  it  would  have  been  the 
madness  of  folly  to  show  the  impatience  which  I  felt. 
I  too  could  smile  with  my  lips  when  occasion  drove, 
and  drink  a  bitter  draught  as  though  my  soul  delighted 
in  it  Blithe  enough  to  all  seeming,  and  with  as  few 
inward  misgivings  as  the  case  called  for,  Diccon  and 
I  went  with  the  subtle  Emperor  and  the  young  chief 
he  had  bound  to  himself  once  more,  and  with  their 
fierce  train,  back  to  that  village  which  we  had  never 
thought  to  see  again.  A  day  and  a  night  we  stayed 
there  ;  then  Opechancanough  sent  away  the  Paspa- 
heghs,  —  where  we  knew  not,  —  and  taking  us  with 
him  went  to  his  own  village  above  the  great  marshes 
of  the  Pamunkey. 


CHAPTER  XXXII 

IN  WHICH  WE  ABE  THE  GUESTS    OF  AN  EMPEROR 

I  HAD  before  this  spent  days  among  the  Indians, 
on  voyages  of  discovery,  as  conqueror,  as  negotiator 
for  food,  exchanging  blue  beads  for  corn  and  turkeys. 
Other  Englishmen  had  been  with  me.  Knowing  those 
with  whom  we  dealt  for  sly  and  fierce  heathen,  friends 
to-day,  to-morrow  deadly  foes,  we  kept  our  muskets 
ready  and  our  eyes  and  ears  open,  and,  what  with  the 
danger  and  the  novelty  and  the  bold  wild  life,  man 
aged  to  extract  some  merriment  as  well  as  profit  from 
these  visits.  It  was  different  now. 

Day  after  day  I  ate  my  heart  out  in  that  cursed 
village.  The  feasting  and  the  hunting  and  the  tri 
umph,  the  wild  songs  and  wilder  dances,  the  fantastic 
mummeries,  the  sudden  rages,  the  sudden  laughter, 
the  great  fires  with  their  rings  of  painted  warriors, 
the  sleepless  sentinels,  the  wide  marshes  that  could 
not  be  crossed  by  night,  the  leaves  that  rustled  so 
loudly  beneath  the  lightest  footfall,  the  monotonous 
days,  the  endless  nights  when  I  thought  of  her  grief, 
of  her  peril,  maybe,  —it  was  an  evil  dream,  and  for 
my  own  pleasure  I  could  not  wake  too  soon. 

Should  we  ever  wake  ?  Should  we  not  sink  from 
that  dream  without  pause  into  a  deeper  sleep  whence 
there  would  be  no  waking  ?  It  was  a  question  that  I 
asked  myself  each  morning,  half  looking  to  find  an 
other  hollow  between  the  hills  before  the  night  should 


314  TO   HAVE  AND  TO   HOLD 

fall.  The  night  fell,  and  there  was  no  change  in  the 
dream. 

I  will  allow  that  the  dark  Emperor  to  whom  we 
were  so  much  beholden  gave  us  courteous  keeping. 
The  best  of  the  hunt  was  ours,  the  noblest  fish,  the 
most  delicate  roots.  The  skins  beneath  which  we 
slept  were  fine  and  soft ;  the  women  waited  upon  us, 
and  the  old  men  and  warriors  held  with  us  much 
stately  converse,  sitting  beneath  the  budding  trees 
with  the  blue  tobacco  smoke  curling  above  our  heads. 
We  were  alive  and  sound  of  limb,  well  treated  and 
with  the  promise  of  release  ;  we  might  have  waited, 
seeing  that  wait  we  must,  in  some  measure  of  content. 
We  did  not  so.  There  was  a  horror  in  the  air.  From 
the  marshes  that  were  growing  green,  from  the  slug 
gish  river,  from  the  rotting  leaves  and  cold  black 
earth  and  naked  forest,  it  rose  like  an  exhalation. 
We  knew  not  what  it  was,  but  we  breathed  it  in,  and 
it  went  to  the  marrow  of  our  bones. 

Opechancanough  we  rarely  saw,  though  we  were 
bestowed  so  near  to  him  that  his  sentinels  served  for 
ours.  Like  some  god,  he  kept  within  his  lodge  with 
the  winding  passage,  and  the  hanging  mats  between 
him  and  the  world  without.  At  other  times,  issuing 
from  that  retirement,  he  would  stride  away  into  the 
forest.  Picked  men  went  with  him,  and  they  were 
gone  for  hours  ;  but  when  they  returned  they  bore 
no  trophies,  brute  or  human.  What  they  did  we 
could  not  guess.  We  might  have  had  much  comfort 
in  Nantauquas,  but  the  morning  after  our  arrival  in 
this  village  the  Emperor  sent  him  upon  an  embassy 
to  the  Rappahannocks,  and  when  for  the  fourth  time 
the  forest  stood  black  against  the  sunset  he  had  not 
returned.  If  escape  had  been  possible,  we  would  not 


WE   ARE  THE  GUESTS   OF  AN  EMPEROR     315 

have  awaited  the  doubtful  fulfillment  of  that  promise 
made  to  us  below  the  Uttamussac  temples.  But  the 
vigilance  of  the  Indians  never  slept ;  they  watched  us 
like  hawks,  night  and  day.  And  the  dry  leaves  under 
foot  would  not  hold  their  peace,  and  there  were  the 
marshes  to  cross  and  the  river. 

Thus  four  days  dragged  themselves  by,  and  in  the 
early  morning  of  the  fifth,  when  we  came  from  our 
wigwam,  it  was  to  find  Nantauquas  sitting  by  the  fire, 
magnificent  in  the  paint  and  trappings  of  the  ambas 
sador,  motionless  as  a  piece  of  bronze,  and  apparently 
quite  unmindful  of  the  admiring  glances  of  the  women 
who  knelt  about  the  fire  preparing  our  breakfast. 
When  he  saw  us  he  rose  and  came  to  meet  us,  and  I 
embraced  him,  I  was  so  glad  to  see  him.  "  The  Eap- 
pahannocks  feasted  me  long,"  he  said.  "  I  was  afraid 
that  Captain  Percy  would  be  gone  to  Jamestown  be 
fore  I  was  back  upon  the  Pamunkey." 

"  Shall  I  ever  see  Jamestown  again,  Nantauquas  ?  " 
I  demanded.  "  I  have  my  doubts." 

He  looked  me  full  in  the  eyes,  and  there  was  no 
doubting  the  candor  of  his  own.  "  You  go  with  the 
next  sunrise,"  he  answered.  "  Opechancanough  has 
given  me  his  word." 

"  I  am  glad  to  hear  it,"  I  said.  "  Why  have  we 
been  kept  at  all  ?  Why  did  he  not  free  us  five  days 
agone  ?  " 

He  shook  his  head.  "  I  do  not  know.  Opechanca 
nough  has  many  thoughts  which  he  shares  with  no 
man.  But  now  he  will  send  you  with  presents  for  the 
Governor,  and  with  messages  of  his  love  to  the  white 
men.  There  will  be  a  great  feast  to-day,  and  to-night 
the  young  men  and  maidens  will  dance  before  you. 
Then  in  the  morning  you  will  go." 


316  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

"  Will  you  not  come  with  us  ?  "  I  asked.  "  You 
are  ever  welcome  amongst  us,  Nantauquas,  both  for 
your  sister's  sake  and  for  your  own.  Rolfe  will  re 
joice  to  have  you  with  him  again ;  he  ever  grudgeth 
you  to  the  forest." 

He  shook  his  head  again.  "  Nantauquas,  the  son  of 
Powhatan,  hath  had  much  talk  with  himself  lately,"  he 
said  simply.  "The  white  men's  ways  have  seemed 
very  good  to  him,  and  the  God  of  the  white  men  he 
knows  to  be  greater  than  Okee,  and  to  be  good  and 
tender ;  not  like  Okee,  who  sucks  the  blood  of  the 
children.  He  remembers  Matoax,  too,  and  how  she 
loved  and  cared  for  the  white  men  and  would  weep 
when  danger  threatened  them.  And  Rolfe  is  his 
brother  and  his  teacher.  But  Opechancanough  is  his 
king,  and  the  red  men  are  his  people,  and  the  forest  is 
his  home.  If,  because  he  loved  Rolfe,  and  because 
the  ways  of  the  white  men  seemed  to  him  better  than 
his  own  ways,  he  forgot  these  things,  he  did  wrong, 
and  the  One  over  All  frowns  upon  him.  Now  he  has 
come  back  to  his  home  again,  to  the  forest  and  the 
hunting  and  the  warpath,  to  his  king  and  his  people. 
He  will  be  again  the  panther  crouching  upon  the 
bough  "  — 

"  Above  the  white  men  ?  " 

He  gazed  at  me  in  silence,  a  shadow  upon  his  face. 
"  Above  the  Monacans,"  he  answered  slowly.  "  Why 
did  Captain  Percy  say  '  above  the  white  men  '  ?  Ope- 
chancanongh  and  the  English  have  buried  the  hatchet 
forever,  and  the  smoke  of  the  peace  pipe  will  never 
fade  from  the  air.  Nantauquas  meant  fc  above  the 
Monacans  or  the  Long  House  dogs.' " 

I  put  my  hand  upon  his  shoulder.  "  I  know  you 
did,  brother  of  Rolfe  by  nature  if  not  by  blood  !  For- 


WE   ARE  THE  GUESTS  OF  AN  EMPEROR      317 

get  what  I  said  ;  it  was  without  thought  or  meaning. 
If  we  go  indeed  to-morrow,  I  shall  be  loath  to  leave 
you  behind ;  and  yet,  were  I  in  your  place,  I  should 
do  as  you  are  doing." 

The  shadow  left  his  face  and  he  drew  himself  up. 
"  Is  it  what  you  call  faith  and  loyalty  and  like  a 
knight?"  he  demanded,  with  a  touch  of  eagerness 
breaking  through  the  slowness  and  gravity  with  which 
an  Indian  speaks. 

"  Yea,"  I  made  reply.  "  I  think  you  good  knight 
and  true,  Nantauquas,  and  my  friend,  moreover,  who 
saved  iny  life." 

His  smile  was  like  his  sister's,  quick  and  very  bright, 
and  leaving  behind  it  a  most  entire  gravity.  Together 
we  sat  down  by  the  fire  and  ate  of  the  sylvan  break 
fast,  with  shy  brown  maidens  to  serve  us  and  with  the 
sunshine  streaming  down  upon  us  through  the  trees 
that  were  growing  faintly  green.  It  was  a  thing  to 
smile  at  to  see  how  the  Indian  girls  manoeuvred  to 
give  the  choicest  meat,  the  most  delicate  maize  cakes, 
to  the  young  war  chief,  and  to  see  how  quietly  he 
turned  aside  their  benevolence.  The  meal  over,  he 
went  to  divest  himself  of  his  red  and  white  paint,  of 
the  stuffed  hawk  and  strings  of  copper  that  formed  his 
headdress,  of  his  gorgeous  belt  and  quiver  and  his 
mantle  of  raccoon  skins,  while  Diccon  and  I  sat  still 
before  our  wigwam,  smoking,  and  reckoning  the  dis 
tance  to  Jamestown  and  the  shortest  time  in  which  we 
could  cover  it. 

When  we  had  sat  there  for  an  hour  the  old  men  and 
the  warriors  came  to  visit  us,  and  the  smoking  must 
commence  all  over  again.  The  women  laid  mats  in  a 
great  half  circle,  and  each  savage  took  his  seat  with  per 
fect  breeding ;  that  is,  in  absolute  silence  and  with  a 


318  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

face  like  a  stone.  The  peace  paint  was  upon  them 
all,  —  red,  or  red  and  white  ;  they  sat  and  looked  at  the 
ground  until  I  had  made  the  speech  of  welcome.  Soon 
the  air  was  dense  with  the  fragrant  smoke ;  in  the 
thick  blue  haze  the  sweep  of  painted  figures  had  the 
seeming  of  some  fantastic  dream.  An  old  man  arose 
and  made  a  long  and  touching  speech  with  much  refer 
ence  to  calumets  and  buried  hatchets.  When  he  had 
finished  a  chief  talked  of  Opechancanough's  love  for 
the  English,  "  high  as  the  stars,  deep  as  Popogusso, 
wide  as  from  the  sunrise  to  the  sunset,"  adding  that 
the  death  of  Nemattanow  last  year  and  the  troubles 
over  the  hunting  grounds  had  kindled  in  the  breasts  of 
the  Indians  no  desire  for  revenge.  With  which  highly 
probable  statement  he  made  an  end,  and  all  sat  in 
silence  looking  at  me  and  waiting  for  my  contribution 
of  honeyed  words.  These  Pamunkeys,  living  at  a  dis 
tance  from  the  settlements,  had  but  little  English  to 
their  credit,  and  the  learning  of  the  Paspaheghs  was 
not  much  greater.  I  sat  and  repeated  to  them  the 
better  part  of  the  seventh  canto  of  the  second  book  of 
Master  Spenser's  "Faery  Queen."  Then  I  told  them 
the  story  of  the  Moor  of  Venice,  and  ended  by  relating 
Smith's  tale  of  the  three  Turks'  heads.  It  all  an 
swered  the  purpose  to  admiration.  When  at  length 
they  went  away  to  change  their  paint  for  the  coming 
feast  Diccon  and  I  laughed  at  that  foolery  as  though 
there  were  none  beside  us  who  could  juggle  with  words. 
We  were  as  light-hearted  as  children  —  God  forgive 
us! 

The  day  wore  on,  with  relay  after  relay  of  food 
which  we  must  taste  at  least,  with  endless  smoking 
of  pipes  and  speeches  that  must  be  listened  to  and 
answered.  When  evening  came  and  our  entertainers 


WE  ARE  THE  GUESTS  OF  AN  EMPEROR      319 

drew  off  to  prepare  for  the  dance,  they  left  us  as 
wearied  as  by  a  long  day's  march. 

The  wind  had  been  high  during  the  day,  but  with 
the  sunset  it  sank  to  a  desolate  murmur.  The  sky 
wore  the  strange  crimson  of  the  past  year  at  Wey- 
anoke.  Against  that  sea  of  color  the  pines  were 
drawn  in  ink,  and  beneath  it  the  winding,  threadlike 
creeks  that  pierced  the  marshes  had  the  look  of  spilt 
blood  moving  slowly  and  heavily  to  join  the  river  that 
was  black  where  the  pines  shadowed  it,  red  where  the 
light  touched  it.  From  the  marsh  arose  the  cry  of 
some  great  bird  that  made  its  home  there  ;  it  had  a 
lonely  and  a  boding  sound,  like  a  trumpet  blown  above 
the  dead.  The  color  died  into  an  ashen  gray  and  the 
air  grew  cold,  with  a  heaviness  beside  that  dragged 
at  the  very  soul.  Diccon  shivered  violently,  turned 
restlessly  upon  the  log  that  served  him  as  settle,  and 
began  to  mutter  to  himself. 

"Art  cold?"  I  asked. 

He  shook  his  head.  "  Something  walked  over  my 
grave,"  he  said.  "  I  would  give  all  the  pohickory 
that  was  ever  brewed  by  heathen  for  a  toss  of  aqua 


In  the  centre  of  the  village  rose  a  great  heap  of  logs 
and  dry  branches,  built  during  the  day  by  the  women 
and  children.  When  the  twilight  fell  and  the  owls 
began  to  hoot  this  pile  was  fired,  and  lit  the  place 
from  end  to  end.  The  scattered  wigwams,  the  scaf 
folding  where  the  fish  were  dried,  the  tall  pines  and 
wide-branching  mulberries,  the  trodden  grass,  —  all 
flashed  into  sight  as  the  flame  roared  up  to  the  top 
most  withered  bough.  The  village  glowed  like  a  lamp 
set  in  the  dead  blackness  of  marsh  and  forest.  Ope- 
chancanough  came  from  the  forest  with  a  score  of 


320  TO   HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

warriors  behind  him,  and  stopped  beside  me.  I  rose 
to  greet  him,  as  was  decent ;  for  he  was  an  Emperor, 
albeit  a  savage  and  a  pagan.  "  Tell  the  English  that 
Opechancanough  grows  old,"  he  said.  "  The  years 
that  once  were  as  light  upon  him  as  the  dew  upon  the 
maize  are  now  hailstones  to  beat  him  back  to  the  earth 
whence  he  came.  His  arm  is  not  swift  to  strike  and 
strong  as  it  once  was.  He  is  old ;  the  warpath  and 
the  scalp  dance  please  him  no  longer.  He  would  die 
at  peace  with  all  men.  Tell  the  English  this  ;  tell 
them  also  that  Opechancanough  knows  that  they  are 
good  and  just,  that  they  do  not  treat  men  whose  color 
is  not  their  own  like  babes,  fooling  them  with  toys, 
thrusting  them  out  of  their  path  when  they  grow  trou 
blesome.  The  land  is  wide  and  the  hunting  grounds 
are  many.  Let  the  red  men  who  were  here  as  many 
moons  ago  as  there  are  leaves  in  summer  and  the 
white  men  who  came  yesterday  dwell  side  by  side 
in  peace,  sharing  the  maize  fields  and  the  weirs  and 
the  hunting  grounds  together."  He  waited  not  for 
my  answer,  but  passed  on,  and  there  was  no  sign  of 
age  in  his  stately  figure  and  his  slow,  firm  step.  I 
watched  him  with  a  frown  until  the  darkness  of  his 
lodge  had  swallowed  up  him  and  his  warriors,  and 
mistrusted  him  for  a  cold  and  subtle  devil. 

Suddenly,  as  we  sat  staring  at  the  fire  we  were 
beset  by  a  band  of  maidens,  coming  out  of  the  woods, 
painted,  with  antlers  upon  their  heads  and  pine 
branches  in  their  hands.  They  danced  about  us,  now 
advancing  until  the  green  needles  met  above  our 
heads,  now  retreating  until  there  was  a  space  of  turf 
between  us.  Their  slender  limbs  gleamed  in  the  fire 
light  ;  they  moved  with  grace,  keeping  time  to  a  plain 
tive  song,  now  raised  by  the  whole  choir,  now  fallen 


WE  ARE  THE   GUESTS   OF  AN  EMPEROR      321 

to  a  single  voice.  Pocahontas  had  danced  thus  before 
the  English  many  a  time.  I  thought  of  the  little 
maid,  of  her  great  wondering  eyes  and  her  piteous, 
untimely  death,  of  how  loving  she  was  to  Rolfe  and 
how  happy  they  had  been  in  their  brief  wedded  life. 
It  had  bloomed  like  a  rose,  as  fair  and  as  early  fallen, 
with  only  a  memory  of  past  sweetness.  Death  was  a 
coward,  passing  by  men  whose  trade  it  was  to  out 
brave  him,  and  striking  at  the  young  and  lovely  and 
innocent.  .  .  . 

We  were  tired  with  all  the  mummery  of  the  day ; 
moreover,  every  fibre  of  our  souls  had  been  strained 
to  meet  the  hours  that  had  passed  since  we  left  the 
gaol  at  Jamestown.  The  elation  we  had  felt  earlier 
in  the  day  was  all  gone.  Now,  the  plaintive  song, 
the  swaying  figures,  the  red  light  beating  against  the 
trees,  the  blackness  of  the  enshrouding  forest,  the 
low,  melancholy  wind,  —  all  things  seemed  strange, 
and  yet  deadly  old,  as  though  we  had  seen  and  heard 
them  since  the  beginning  of  the  world.  All  at  once 
a  fear  fell  upon  me,  causeless  and  unreasonable,  but 
weighing  upon  my  heart  like  a  stone.  She  was  in  a 
palisaded  town,  under  the  Governor's  protection,  with 
my  friends  about  her  and  my  enemy  lying  sick,  unable 
to  harm  her.  It  was  I,  not  she,  that  was  in  danger. 
I  laughed  at  myself,  but  my  heart  was  heavy,  and  I 
was  in  a  fever  to  be  gone. 

The  Indian  girls  danced  more  and  more  swiftly, 
and  their  song  changed,  becoming  gay  and  shrill  and 
sweet.  Higher  and  higher  rang  the  notes,  faster  and 
faster  moved  the  dark  limbs ;  then,  quite  suddenly, 
song  and  motion  ceased  together.  They  who  had 
danced  with  the  abandonment  of  wild  priestesses  to 
some  wild  god  were  again  but  shy  brown  Indian  maids 


322  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

who  went  and  set  them  meekly  down  upon  the  grass 
beneath  the  trees.  From  the  darkness  now  came  a 
burst  of  savage  cries  only  less  appalling  than  the  war 
whoop  itself.  In  a  moment  the  men  of  the  village 
had  rushed  from  the  shadow  of  the  trees  into  the 
broad,  firelit  space  before  us.  Now  they  circled 
around  us,  now  around  the  fire ;  now  each  man  danced 
and  stamped  and  muttered  to  himself.  For  the  most 
part  they  were  painted  red,  but  some  were  white  from 
head  to  heel,  —  statues  come  to  life,  —  while  others 
had  first  oiled  their  bodies,  then  plastered  them  over 
with  small  bright-colored  feathers.  The  tall  head 
dresses  made  giants  of  them  all ;  as  they  leaped  and 
danced  in  the  glare  of  the  fire  they  had  a  fiendish 
look.  They  sang,  too,  but  the  air  was  rude,  and 
broken  by  dreadful  cries.  Out  of  a  hut  behind  us 
burst  two  or  three  priests,  the  conjurer,  and  a  score 
or  more  of  old  men.  They  had  Indian  drums  upon 
which  they  beat  furiously,  and  long  pipes  made  of 
reeds  which  gave  forth  no  uncertain  sound.  Fixed 
upon  a  pole  and  borne  high  above  them  was  the  image 
of  their  Okee,  a  hideous  thing  of  stuffed  skins  and 
rattling  chains  of  copper.  When  they  had  joined 
themselves  to  the  throng  in  the  firelight  the  clamor 
became  deafening.  Some  one  piled  on  more  logs,  and 
the  place  grew  light  as  day.  Opechancanough  was 
not  there,  nor  Nantauquas. 

Diccon  and  I  watched  that  uncouth  spectacle,  that 
Virginian  masque,  as  we  had  watched  many  another 
one,  with  disgust  and  weariness.  It  would  last,  we 
knew,  for  the  better  part  of  the  night.  It  was  in  our 
honor,  and  for  a  while  we  must  stay  and  testify  our 
pleasure ;  but  after  a  time,  when  they  had  sung  and 
danced  themselves  into  oblivion  of  our  presence,  we 


WE  ARE  THE  GUESTS   OF  AN  EMPEROR     323 

might  retire,  and  leave  the  very  old  men,  the  women, 
and  the  children  sole  spectators.  We  waited  for  that 
relief  with  impatience,  though  we  showed  it  not  to 
those  who  pressed  about  us. 

Time  passed,  and  the  noise  deepened  and  the  dan 
cing  became  more  frantic.  The  dancers  struck  at  one 
another  as  they  leaped  and  whirled,  the  sweat  rolled 
from  their  bodies,  and  from  their  lips  came  hoarse, 
animal-like  cries.  The  fire,  ever  freshly  fed,  roared 
and  crackled,  mocking  the  silent  stars.  The  pines 
were  bronze-red,  the  woods  beyond  a  dead  black.  All 
noises  of  marsh  and  forest  were  lost  in  the  scream  of 
the  pipes,  the  wild  yelling,  and  the  beating  of  the 
drums. 

From  the  ranks  of  the  women  beneath  the  reddened 
pines  rose  shrill  laughter  and  applause  as  they  sat  or 
knelt,  bent  forward,  watching  the  dancers.  One  girl 
alone  watched  not  them,  but  us.  She  stood  somewhat 
back  of  her  companions,  one  slim  brown  hand  touch 
ing  the  trunk  of  a  tree,  one  brown  foot  advanced,  her 
attitude  that  of  one  who  waits  but  for  a  signal  to  be 
gone.  Now  and  then  she  glanced  impatiently  at  the 
wheeling  figures,  or  at  the  old  men  and  the  few  war 
riors  who  took  no  part  in  the  masque,  but  her  eyes 
always  came  back  to  us.  She  had  been  among  the 
maidens  who  danced  before  us  earlier  in  the  night ; 
when  they  rested  beneath  the  trees  she  had  gone  away, 
and  the  night  was  much  older  when  I  marked  her 
again,  coming  out  of  the  firelit  distance  back  to  the 
fire  and  her  dusky  mates.  It  was  soon  after  this  that 
I  became  aware  that  she  must  have  some  reason  for 
her  anxious  scrutiny,  some  message  to  deliver  or  warn 
ing  to  give.  Once  when  I  made  a  slight  motion  as  if 
to  go  to  her,  she  shook  her  head  and  laid  her  finger 
upon  her  lips. 


324  TO  HAVE  AND  TO   HOLD 

A  dancer  fell  from  sheer  exhaustion,  another  and 
another,  and  warriors  from  the  dozen  or  more  seated 
at  our  right  began  to  take  the  places  of  the  fallen. 
The  priests  shook  their  rattles,  and  made  themselves 
dizzy  with  bending  and  whirling  about  their  Okee; 
the  old  men,  too,  though  they  sat  like  statues,  thought 
only  of  the  dance,  and  of  how  they  themselves  had 
excelled,  long  ago  when  they  were  young. 

I  rose,  and  making  my  way  to  the  werowance  of  the 
village  where  he  sat  with  his  eyes  fixed  upon  a  young 
Indian,  his  son,  who  bade  fair  to  outlast  all  others  in 
that  wild  contest,  told  him  that  I  was  wearied  and 
would  go  to  my  hut,  I  and  my  servant,  to  rest  for  the 
few  hours  that  yet  remained  of  the  night.  He  listened 
dreamily,  his  eyes  upon  the  dancing  Indian,  but  made 
offer  to  escort  me  thither.  I  pointed  out  to  him  that 
my  quarters  were  not  fifty  yards  away,  in  the  broad 
firelight,  in  sight  of  them  all,  and  that  it  were  a  pity 
to  take  him  or  any  others  from  the  contemplation  of 
that  whirling  Indian,  so  strong  and  so  brave  that  he 
would  surely  one  day  lead  the  war  parties. 

After  a  moment  he  acquiesced,  and  Diccon  and  I, 
quietly  and  yet  with  some  ostentation,  so  as  to  avoid 
all  appearance  of  stealing  away,  left  the  press  of  sav 
ages  and  began  to  cross  the  firelit  turf  between  them 
and  our  lodge.  When  we  had  gone  fifty  paces  I 
glanced  over  my  shoulder  and  saw  that  the  Indian 
maid  no  longer  stood  where  we  had  last  seen  her,  be 
neath  the  pines.  A  little  farther  on  we  caught  a 
glimpse  of  her  winding  in  and  out  among  a  row  of 
trees  to  our  left.  The  trees  ran  past  our  lodge.  When 
we  had  reached  its  entrance  we  paused  and  looked 
back  to  the  throng  we  had  left.  Every  back  seemed 
turned  to  us,  every  eye  intent  upon  the  leaping  figures 


WE  ARE  THE  GUESTS  OF  AN  EMPEROR      325 

around  the  great  fire.  Swiftly  and  quietly  we  walked 
across  the  bit  of  even  ground  to  the  friendly  trees, 
and  found  ourselves  in  a  thin  strip  of  shadow  between 
the  light  of  the  great  fire  we  had  left  and  that  of  a 
lesser  one  burning  redly  before  the  Emperor's  lodge. 
Beneath  the  trees,  waiting  for  us,  was  the  Indian  maid, 
with  her  light  form,  and  large,  shy  eyes,  and  finger 
upon  her  lips.  She  would  not  speak  or  tarry,  but 
flitted  before  us  as  dusk  and  noiseless  as  a  moth,  and 
we  followed  her  into  the  darkness  beyond  the  firelight, 
well-nigh  to  the  line  of  sentinels.  A  wigwam,  larger 
than  common  and  shadowed  by  trees,  rose  in  our  path ; 
the  girl,  gliding  in  front  of  us,  held  aside  the  mats 
that  curtained  the  entrance.  We  hesitated  a  moment, 
then  stooped  and  entered  the  place. 


CHAPTER   XXXIII 

IN   WHICH    MY   FKIEND   BECOMES   MY   FOE 

IN  the  centre  of  the  wigwam  the  customary  fire 
burned  clear  and  bright,  showing  the  white  mats,  the 
dressed  skins,  the  implements  of  war  hanging  upon 
the  bark  walls,  —  all  the  usual  furniture  of  an  Indian 
dwelling,  —  and  showing  also  Nantauquas  standing 
against  the  stripped  trunk  of  a  pine  that  pierced  the 
wigwam  from  floor  to  roof.  The  fire  was  between  us. 
He  stood  so  rigid,  at  his  full  height,  with  folded  arms 
and  head  held  high,  and  his  features  were  so  blank 
and  still,  so  forced  and  frozen,  as  it  were,  into  com 
posure,  that,  with  the  red  light  beating  upon  him 
and  the  thin  smoke  curling  above  his  head,  he  had 
the  look  of  a  warrior  tied  to  the  stake. 

"Nantauquas  !  "  I  exclaimed,  and  striding  past  the 
fire  would  have  touched  him  but  that  with  a  slight 
and  authoritative  motion  of  the  hand  he  kept  me  back. 
Otherwise  there  was  no  change  in  his  position  or  in 
the  dead  calm  of  his  face. 

The  Indian  maid  had  dropped  the  mat  at  the  en 
trance,  and  if  she  waited,  waited  without  in  the  dark 
ness.  Diccon,  now  staring  at  the  young  chief,  now 
eyeing  the  weapons  upon  the  wall  with  all  a  lover's 
passion,  kept  near  the  doorway.  Through  the  thick 
ness  of  the  bark  and  woven  twigs  the  wild  cries  and 
singing  came  to  us  somewhat  faintly ;  beneath  that 
distant  noise  could  be  heard  the  wind  in  the  trees  and 
the  soft  fall  of  the  burning  pine. 


IN  WHICH  MY  FRIEND  BECOMES  MY  FOE    327 

"  Well !  "  I  asked  at  last.  "  What  is  the  matter, 
my  friend  ?  " 

For  a  full  minute  he  made  no  answer,  and  when  he 
did  speak  his  voice  matched  his  face. 

"  My  friend"  he  said,  "  I  am  going  to  show  myself 
a  friend  indeed  to  the  English,  to  the  strangers  who 
were  not  content  with  their  own  hunting  grounds  be 
yond  the  great  salt  water.  When  I  have  done  this,  I 
do  not  know  that  Captain  Percy  will  call  me  4  friend ' 
again." 

"You  were  wont  to  speak  plainly,  Nantauquas,"  I 
answered  him.  "  I  am  not  fond  of  riddles." 

Again  he  waited,  as  though  he  found  speech  diffi 
cult.  I  stared  at  him  in  amazement,  he  was  so 
changed  in  so  short  a  time. 

He  spoke  at  last :  "  When  the  dance  is  over,  and 
the  fires  are  low,  and  the  sunrise  is  at  hand,  then  will 
Opechancanough  come  to  you  to  bid  you  farewell. 
He  will  give  you  the  pearls  that  he  wears  about  his 
neck  for  a  present  to  the  Governor,  and  a  bracelet  for 
yourself.  Also  he  will  give  you  three  men  for  a  guard 
through  the  forest.  He  has  messages  of  love  to  send 
the  white  men,  and  he  would  send  them  by  you  who 
were  his  enemy  and  his  captive.  So  all  the  white 
men  shall  believe  in  his  love." 

"  Well,"  I  said  dryly  as  he  paused.  "  I  will  take 
his  messages.  What  next?  " 

"  Those  are  the  words  of  Opechancanough.  Now 
listen  to  the  words  of  Nantauquas,  the  son  of  Wa- 
hunsonacock,  a  war  chief  of  the  Powhatans.  There 
are  two  sharp  knives  there,  hanging  beneath  the  bow 
and  the  quiver  and  the  shield.  Take  them  and  hide 
them." 

The  words  were  scarcely  out  of  his  mouth  before 


328  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

Diccon  had  the  two  keen  English  blades.  I  took  the 
one  he  offered  me,  and  hid  it  in  my  doublet. 

"  So  we  go  armed,  Nantauquas,"  I  said.  "  Love 
and  peace  and  goodwill  consort  not  with  such  toys." 

"  You  may  want  them,"  he  went  on,  with  no  change 
in  his  low,  measured  tones.  "  If  you  see  aught  in  the 
forest  that  you  should  not  see,  if  they  think  you  know 
more  than  you  are  meant  to  know,  then  those  three, 
who  have  knives  and  tomahawks,  are  to  kill  you,  whom 
they  believe  unarmed." 

"  See  aught  that  we  should  not  see,  know  more  than 
we  are  meant  to  know?"  I  said.  "To  the  point, 
friend." 

"  They  will  go  slowly,  too,  through  the  forest  to 
Jamestown,  stopping  to  eat  and  to  sleep.  For  them 
there  is  no  need  to  run  like  the  stag  with  the  hunter 
behind  him." 

"  Then  we  should  make  for  Jamestown  as  for  life," 
I  said,  "  not  sleeping  or  eating  or  making  pause  ?  " 

"  Yea,"  he  replied,  "  if  you  would  not  die,  you  and 
all  your  people." 

In  the  silence  of  the  hut  the  fire  crackled,  and  the 
branches  of  the  trees  outside,  bent  by  the  wind,  made 
a  grating  sound  against  the  bark  roof. 

"  How  die  ?  "  I  asked  at  last.     "  Speak  out !  " 

"  Die  by  the  arrow  and  the  tomahawk,"  he  an 
swered,  —  "  yea,  and  by  the  guns  you  have  given  the 
red  men.  To-morrow's  sun,  and  the  next,  and  the 
next,  —  three  suns,  —  and  the  tribes  will  fall  upon 
the  English.  At  the  same  hour,  when  the  men  are  in 
the  fields  and  the  women  and  children  are  in  the 
houses,  they  will  strike,  —  Kecoughtans,  Paspaheghs, 
Chickahominies,  Pamunkeys,  Arrowhatocks,  Chesa- 
peakes,  Nansemonds,  Accomacs,  —  as  one  man  will 


IN.  WHICH  MY  FRIEND  BECOMES  MY  FOE    329 

they  strike  ;  and  from  where  the  Powhatan  falls  over 
the  rocks  to  the  salt  water  beyond  Accomac,  there  will 
not  be  one  white  man  left  alive." 

He  ceased  to  speak,  and  for  a  minute  the  fire  made 
the  only  sound  in  the  hut.  Then,  "All  die?"  I 
asked  dully.  "  There  are  three  thousand  Englishmen 
in  Virginia." 

"  They  are  scattered  and  unwarned.  The  fighting 
men  of  the  villages  of  the  Powhatan  and  the  Pamunkey 
and  the  great  bay  are  many,  and  they  have  sharpened 
their  hatchets  and  filled  their  quivers  with  arrows." 

"  Scattered,"  I  said,  "  strewn  broadcast  up  and 
down  the  river,  —  here  a  lonely  house,  there  a  cluster 
of  two  or  three ;  they  at  Jamestown  and  Henricus  off 
guard,  —  the  men  in  the  fields  or  at  the  wharves,  the 
women  and  the  children  busy  within  doors,  all  un 
warned  —  O  my  God  !  " 

Diccon  strode  over  from  the  doorway  to  the  fire. 
"  We  'd  best  be  going,  I  reckon,  sir,"  he  cried.  "  Or 
you  wait  until  morning ;  then  there  '11  be  two  chances. 
Now  that  I  've  a  knife,  I  'm  thinking  I  can  give  ac 
count  of  one  of  them  damned  sentries,  at  least.  Once 
clear  of  them  "  — 

I  shook  my  head,  and  the  Indian  too  made  a  gesture 
of  dissent.  "You  would  only  be  the  first  to  die." 

I  leaned  against  the  side  of  the  hut,  for  my  heart 
beat  like  a  frightened  woman's.  "  Three  days  I  "  I 
exclaimed.  "  If  we  go  with  all  our  speed  we  shall  be 
in  time.  When  did  you  learn  this  thing?" 

"  While  you  watched  the  dance,"  he  answered, 
"  Opechancanough  and  I  sat  within  his  lodge  in  the 
darkness.  His  heart  was  moved,  and  he  talked  to  me 
of  his  own  youth  in  a  strange  country,  south  of  the 
sunset,  where  he  and  his  people  dwelt  in  stone  houses 


330  TO   HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

and  worshiped  a  great  and  fierce  god,  giving  him  blood 
to  drink  and  flesh  to  eat.  To  that  country,  too,  white 
men  had  come  in  ships.  Then  he  spoke  to  me  of  Pow- 
hatan,  my  father,  —  of  how  wise  he  was  and  how  great 
a  chief  before  the  English  came,  and  ho"w  the  English 
made  him  kneel  in  sign  that  he  held  his  lands  from 
their  King,  and  how  he  hated  them ;  and  then  he  told 
me  that  the  tribes  had  called  me  '  woman,'  '  lover  no 
longer  of  the  warpath  and  the  scalp  dance,'  but  that 
he,  who  had  no  son,  loved  me  as  his  son,  knowing  my 
heart  to  be  Indian  still;  and  then  I  heard  what  I 
have  told  you." 

"  How  long  had  this  been  planned  ?  " 

"For  many  moons.  I  have  been  a  child,  fooled 
and  turned  aside  from  the  trail ;  not  wise  enough  to 
see  it  beneath  the  flowers,  through  the  smoke  of  the 
peace  pipes." 

"  Why  does  Opechancanough  send  us  back  to  the 
settlements?"  I  demanded.  "Their  faith  in  him 
needs  no  strengthening." 

"It  is  his  fancy.  Every  hunter  and  trader  and 
learner  of  our  tongues,  living  in  the  villages  or  stray 
ing  in  the  woods,  has  been  sent  back  to  Jamestown  or 
to  his  hundred  with  presents  and  with  words  that  are 
sweeter  than  honey.  He  has  told  the  three  who  go 
with  you  the  hour  in  which  you  are  to  reach  James 
town  ;  he  would  have  you  as  singing  birds,  telling  lying 
tales  to  the  Governor,  with  scarce  the  smoking  of  a 
pipe  between  those  words  of  peace  and  the  war  whoop. 
But  if  those  who  go  with  you  see  reason  to  misdoubt 
yon,  they  will  kill  you  in  the  forest." 

His  voice  fell,  and  he  stood  in  silence,  straight  as 
an  arrow,  against  the  post,  the  firelight  playing  over 
his  dark  limbs  and  sternly  quiet  face.  Outside,  the 


IN   WHICH  MY  FRIEND  BECOMES  MY  FOE    331 

night  wind,  rising,  began  to  howl  through  the  naked 
branches,  and  a  louder  burst  of  yells  came  to  us  from 
the  roisterers  in  the  distance.  The  mat  before  the 
doorway  shook,  and  a  slim  brown  hand,  slipped  be 
tween  the  wood  and  the  woven  grass,  beckoned  to  us. 

"Why  did  you  come?"  demanded  the  Indian. 
"  Long  ago,  when  there  were  none  but  dark  men  from 
the  Chesapeake  to  the  hunting  grounds  beneath  the 
sunset,  we  were  happy.  Why  did  you  leave  your  own 
land,  in  the  strange  black  ships  with  sails  like  the 
piled-up  clouds  of  summer  ?  Was  it  not  a  good  land  ? 
Were  not  your  forests  broad  and  green,  your  fields 
fruitful,  your  rivers  deep  and  filled  with  fish?  And 
the  towns  I  have  heard  of  —  were  they  not  fair  ?  You 
are  brave  men:  had  you  no  enemies  there,  and  no 
warpaths  ?  It  was  your  home :  a  man  should  love  the 
good  earth  over  which  he  hunts,  upon  which  stands 
his  village.  This  is  the  red  man's  land.  He  wishes 
his  hunting  grounds,  his  maize  fields,  and  his  rivers 
for  himself,  his  women  and  children.  He  has  no 
ships  in  which  to  go  to  another  country.  When  you 
first  came  we  thought  you  were  gods ;  but  you  have 
not  done  like  the  great  white  God  who,  you  say,  loves 
you  so.  You  are  wiser  and  stronger  than  we,  but 
your  strength  and  wisdom  help  us  not :  they  press  us 
down  from  men  to  children  ;  they  are  weights  upon 
the  head  and  shoulders  of  a  babe  to  keep  him  under 
stature.  Ill  gifts  have  you  brought  us,  evil  have  you 
wrought  us  "  — 

"  Not  to  you,  Nantauquas !  "  I  cried,  stung  into 
speech. 

He  turned  his  eyes  upon  me.  "  Nantauquas  is  the 
war  chief  of  his  tribe.  Opechancanough  is  his  king, 
and  he  lies  upon  his  bed  in  his  lodge  and  says  within 


332  TO   HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

himself :  '  My  war  chief,  the  Panther,  the  son  of  Wa- 
hunsonacock,  who  was  chief  of  all  the  Powhatans, 
sits  now  within  his  wigwam,  sharpening  flints  for  his 
arrows,  making  his  tomahawk  bright  and  keen,  think 
ing  of  a  day  three  suns  hence,  when  the  tribes  will 
shake  off  forever  the  hand  upon  their  shoulder,  —  the 
hand  so  heavy  and  white  that  strives  always  to  bend 
them  to  the  earth  and  keep  them  there.'  Tell  me, 
you  Englishman  who  have  led  in  war,  another  name 
for  Nantauquas,  and  ask  no  more  what  evil  you  have 
done  him." 

"  I  will  not  call  you  4  traitor,'  Nantauquas,"  I  said, 
after  a  pause.  "  There  is  a  difference.  You  are  not 
the  first  child  of  Powhatan  who  has  loved  and  shielded 
the  white  men." 

"  She  was  a  woman,  a  child,"  he  answered.  "  Out 
of  pity  she  saved  your  lives,  not  knowing  that  it  was 
to  the  hurt  of  her  people.  Then  you  were  few  and 
weak,  and  could  not  take  your  revenge.  Now,  if  you 
die  not,  you  will  drink  deep  of  vengeance,  —  so  deep 
that  your  lips  may  never  leave  the  cup.  More  ships 
will  come,  and  more  ;  you  will  grow  ever  stronger. 
There  may  come  a  moon  when  the  deep  forests  and 
the  shining  rivers  know  us,  to  whom  Kiwassa  gave 
them,  no  more."  He  paused,  with  unmoved  face,  and 
eyes  that  seemed  to  pierce  the  wall  and  look  out  into 
unfathomable  distances.  "  Go !  "  he  said  at  last.  "  If 
you  die  not  in  the  woods,  if  you  see  again  the  man 
whom  I  called  my  brother  and  teacher,  tell  him  .  .  . 
tell  him  nothing  !  Go ! " 

"Come  with  us,"  urged  Diccon  gruffly.  "  We  Eng 
lish  will  make  a  place  for  you  among  us  "  —  and  got 
no  further,  for  I  turned  upon  him  with  a  stern  com 
mand  for  silence. 


IN  WHICH  MY  FRIEND  BECOMES  MY  FOE    333 

"  I  ask  of  you  no  such  thing,  Nantauquas,"  I  said. 
"  Come  against  us,  if  you  will.  Nobly  warned,  fair 
upon  our  guard,  we  will  meet  you  as  knightly  foe 
should  be  met." 

He  stood  for  a  minute,  the  quick  change  that  had 
come  into  his  face  at  Diccon's  blundering  words  gone, 
and  his  features  sternly  impassive  again ;  then,  very 
slowly,  he  raised  his  arm  from  his  side  and  held  out 
his  hand.  His  eyes  met  mine  in  sombre  inquiry,  half 
eager,  half  proudly  doubtful. 

I  went  to  him  at  once,  and  took  his  hand  in  mine. 
No  word  was  spoken.  Presently  he  withdrew  his 
hand  from  my  clasp,  and,  putting  his  finger  to  his  lips, 
whistled  low  to  the  Indian  girl.  She  drew  aside  the 
hanging  mats,  and  we  passed  out,  Diccon  and  I,  leav 
ing  him  standing  as  we  had  found  him,  upright 
against  the  post,  in  the  red  firelight. 

Should  we  ever  go  through  the  woods,  pass  through 
that  gathering  storm,  reach  Jamestown,  warn  them 
there  of  the  death  that  was  rushing  upon  them  ? 
Should  we  ever  leave  that  hated  village  ?  Would  the 
morning  ever  come  ?  When  we  reached  our  hut,  un 
seen,  and  sat  down  just  within  the  doorway  to  watch 
for  the  dawn,  it  seemed  as  though  the  stars  would 
never  pale.  Again  and  again  the  leaping  Indians  be 
tween  us  and  the  fire  fed  the  tall  flame  ;  if  one  figure 
fell  in  the  wild  dancing,  another  took  its  place  ;  the 
yelling  never  ceased,  nor  the  beating  of  the  drums. 

It  was  an  alarum  that  was  sounding,  and  there 
were  only  two  to  hear ;  miles  away  beneath  the  mute 
stars  English  men  and  women  lay  asleep,  with  the 
hour  thundering  at  their  gates,  and  there  was  none  to 
cry,  "  Awake  !  "  When  would  the  dawn  come,  when 
should  we  be  gone  ?  I  could  have  cried  out  in  that 


334  TO   HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

agony  of  waiting,  with  the  leagues  on  leagues  to  be 
traveled,  and  the  time  so  short !  If  we  never  reached 
those  sleepers  —  I  saw  the  dark  warriors  gathering, 
tribe  on  tribe,  war  party  on  war  party,  thick  crowd 
ing  shadows  of  death,  slipping  though  the  silent  forest 
.  .  .  and  the  clearings  we  had  made  and  the  houses 
we  had  built  ...  the  goodly  Englishmen,  Kent  and 
Thorpe  and  Yeardley,  Maddison,  Wynne,  Hamor,  the 
men  who  had  striven  to  win  and  hold  this  land  so 
fatal  and  so  fair,  West  and  Rolfe  and  Jeremy  Spar 
row  .  .  .  the  children  about  the  doorsteps,  the  wo 
men  .  .  .  one  woman  .  .  . 

It  came  to  an  end,  as  all  things  earthly  will.  The 
flames  of  the  great  bonfire  sank  lower  and  lower,  and 
as  they  sank  the  gray  light  faltered  into  being,  grew, 
and  strengthened.  At  last  the  dancers  were  still,  the 
women  scattered,  the  priests  with  their  hideous  Okee 
gone.  The  wailing  of  the  pipes  died  away,  the  drums 
ceased  to  beat,  and  the  village  lay  in  the  keen  wind 
and  the  pale  light,  inert  and  quiet  with  the  stillness 
of  exhaustion. 

The  pause  and  hush  did  not  last.  When  the  ruffled 
pools  amid  the  marshes  were  rosy  beneath  the  sunrise, 
the  women  brought  us  food,  and  the  warriors  and  old 
men  gathered  about  us.  They  sat  upon  mats  or 
billets  of  wood,  and  I  offered  them  bread  and  meat^ 
and  told  them  they  must  come  to  Jamestown  to  taste 
of  the  white  man's  cookery. 

Scarcely  was  the  meal  over  when  Opechancanough 
issued  from  his  lodge,  with  his  picked  men  behind 
him,  and,  coming  slowly  up  to  us,  took  his  seat  upon 
the  white  mat  that  was  spread  for  him.  For  a  few 
minutes  he  sat  in  a  silence  that  neither  we  nor  his 
people  cared  to  break.  Only  the  wind  sang  in  the 


IN   WHICH  MY  FRIEND  BECOMES  MY  FOE    335 

brown  branches,  and  from  some  forest  brake  came  a 
stag's  hoarse  cry.  As  he  sat  in  the  sunshine  he  glis 
tened  all  over,  like  an  Ethiop  besprent  with  silver ;  for 
his  dark  limbs  and  mighty  chest  had  been  oiled,  and 
then  powdered  with  antimony.  Through  his  scalp 
lock  was  stuck  an  eagle's  feather ;  across  his  face, 
from  temple  to  chin,  was  a  bar  of  red  paint ;  the  eyes 
above  were  very  bright  and  watchful,  but  we  upon 
whom  that  scrutiny  was  bent  were  as  little  wont  as 
he  to  let  our  faces  tell  our  minds. 

One  of  his  young  men  brought  a  great  pipe,  carved 
and  painted,  stem  and  bowl ;  an  old  man  filled  it  with 
tobacco,  and  a  warrior  lit  it  and  bore  it  to  the  Em 
peror.  He  put  it  to  his  lips  and  smoked  in  silence, 
while  the  sun  climbed  higher  and  higher,  and  the 
golden  minutes  that  were  more  precious  than  heart's 
blood  went  by,  at  once  too  slow,  too  swift. 

At  last,  his  part  in  the  solemn  mockery  played, 
he  held  out  the  pipe  to  me.  "  The  sky  will  fall,  and 
the  rivers  run  dry,  and  the  birds  cease  to  sing,"  he 
said,  "  before  the  smoke  of  the  calumet  fades  from 
the  land." 

I  took  the  symbol  of  peace,  and  smoked  it  as 
silently  and  soberly  —  ay,  and  as  slowly  —  as  he  had 
done  before  me,  then  laid  it  leisurely  aside  and  held 
out  my  hand.  "  My  eyes  have  been  holden,"  I  told 
him,  "  but  now  I  see  plainly  the  deep  graves  of  the 
hatchets  and  the  drifting  of  the  peace  smoke  through 
the  forest.  Let  Opechancanough  come  to  Jamestown 
to  smoke  of  the  Englishman's  uppowoc,  and  to  receive 
rich  presents,  —  a  red  robe  like  his  brother  Powha- 
tan's,  and  a  cup  from  which  he  shall  drink,  he  and  all 
his  people." 

He  laid  his  dark  fingers  in  mine  for  an  instant, 


336  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

withdrew  them,  and,  rising  to  his  feet,  motioned  to 
three  Indians  who  stood  out  from  the  throng  of 
warriors.  "  These  are  Captain  Percy's  guides  and 
friends,"  he  announced.  "  The  sun  is  high  ;  it  is  time 
that  he  was  gone.  Here  are  presents  for  him  and  for 
rny  brother  the  Governor."  As  he  spoke,  he  took 
from  his  neck  the  rope  of  pearls  and  from  his  arm  a 
copper  bracelet,  and  laid  both  upon  my  palm. 

I  thrust  the  pearls  within  my  doublet,  and  slipped 
the  bracelet  upon  my  wrist.  "Thanks,  Opechanca- 
nough,"  I  said  briefly.  "  When  we  meet  again  I  shall 
not  greet  you  with  empty  thanks." 

By  this  all  the  folk  of  the  village  had  gathered 
around  us  ;  and  now  the  drums  beat  again,  and  the 
maidens  raised  a  wild  and  plaintive  song  of  farewell. 
At  a  sign  from  the  werowance  men  and  women  formed 
a  rude  procession,  and  followed  us,  who  were  to  go 
upon  a  journey,  to  the  edge  of  the  village  where  the 
marsh  began.  Only  the  dark  Emperor  and  the  old 
men  stayed  behind,  sitting  and  standing  in  the  sun 
shine,  with  the  peace  pipe  lying  on  the  grass  at  their 
feet,  and  the  wind  moving  the  branches  overhead.  I 
looked  back  and  saw  them  thus,  and  wondered  idly 
how  many  minutes  they  would  wait  before  putting  on 
the  black  paint.  Of  Nantauquas  we  had  seen  nothing. 
Either  he  had  gone  to  the  forest,  or  upon  some  pre 
tense  he  kept  within  his  lodge. 

We  bade  farewell  to  the  noisy  throng  who  had 
brought  us  upon  our  way,  and  went  down  to  the 
river,  where  we  found  a  canoe  and  rowers,  crossed 
the  stream,  and,  bidding  the  rowers  good-by,  entered 
the  forest.  It  was  Wednesday  morning,  and  the  sun 
was  two  hours  high.  Three  suns,  Nantauquas  had 
said  :  on  Friday,  then,  the  blow  would  fall.  Three 


IN  WHICH  MY  FRIEND  BECOMES  MY  FOE    337 

days !  Once  at  Jamestown,  it  would  take  three  days 
to  warn  each  lonely  scattered  settlement,  to  put  the 
colony  into  any  posture  of  defense.  What  of  the 
leagues  of  danger-haunted  forest  to  be  traversed  be 
fore  even  a  single  soul  of  the  three  thousand  could 
be  warned  ? 

As  for  the  three  Indians,  —  who  had  their  orders  to 
go  slowly,  who  at  any  suspicious  haste  or  question  or 
anxiety  on  our  part  were  to  kill  us  whom  they  deemed 
unarmed,  — when  they  left  their  village  that  morning, 
they  left  it  forever.  There  were  times  when  Diccon 
and  I  had  no  need  of  speech,  but  knew  each  other's 
mind  without;  so  now,  though  no  word  had  been 
spoken,  we  were  agreed  to  set  upon  and  slay  our 
guides  the  first  occasion  that  offered. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV 

IN   WHICH   THE   RACE   IS   NOT   TO   THE   SWIFT 

THE  three  Indians  of  whom  we  must  rid  ourselves 
were  approved  warriors,  fierce  as  wolves,  cunning  as 
foxes,  keen-eyed  as  hawks.  They  had  110  reason  to 
doubt  us,  to  dream  that  we  would  turn  upon  them,  but 
from  habit  they  watched  us,  with  tomahawk  and  knife 
resting  lightly  in  their  belts. 

As  for  us,  we  walked  slowly,  smiled  freely,  and 
spoke  frankly.  The  sunshine  streaming  down  in  the 
spaces  where  the  trees  fell  away  was  not  brighter  than 
our  mood.  Had  we  not  smoked  the  peace  pipe  ? 
Were  we  not  on  our  way  home  ?  Diccon,  walking 
behind  me,  fell  into  a  low-voiced  conversation  with  the 
savage  who  strode  beside  him.  It  related  to  the  bar 
ter  for  a  dozen  otterskins  of  a  gun  which  he  had  at 
Jamestown.  The  savage  was  to  bring  the  skins  to 
Paspahegh  at  his  earliest  convenience,  and  Diccon 
would  meet  him  there  and  give  him  the  gun,  provided 
the  pelts  were  to  his  liking.  As  they  talked,  each,  in 
his  mind's  eye,  saw  the  other  dead  before  him.  The 
one  meant  to  possess  a  gun,  indeed,  but  he  thought  to 
take  it  himself  from  the  munition  house  at  James 
town  ;  the  other  knew  that  the  otter  which  died  not 
until  this  Indian's  arrow  quivered  in  its  side  would 
live  until  doomsday.  Yet  they  discussed  the  matter 
gravely,  hedging  themselves  about  with  provisos,  and, 
the  bargain  clinched,  walked  on  side  by  side  in  the 
silence  of  a  perfect  and  all-comprehending  amity. 


THE  RACE  IS  NOT  TO  THE  SWIFT          339 

The  sun  rode  higher  and  higher,  gilding  the  misty 
green  of  the  budding  trees,  quickening  the  red  maple 
bloom  into  fierce  scarlet,  throwing  lances  of  light  down 
through  the  pine  branches  to  splinter  against  the  dark 
earth  far  below.  For  an  hour  it  shone  ;  then  clouds 
gathered  and  shut  it  from  sight.  The  forest  darkened, 
and  the  wind  arose  with  a  shriek.  The  young  trees 
cowered  before  the  blast,  the  strong  and  vigorous  beat 
their  branches  together  with  a  groaning  sound,  the 
old  and  worn  fell  crashing  to  the  earth.  Presently 
the  rain  rushed  down,  slant  lines  of  silver  tearing 
through  the  wood  with  the  sound  of  the  feet  of  an 
army  ;  hail  followed,  a  torrent  of  ice  beating  and 
bruising  all  tender  green  things  to  the  earth.  The 
wind  took  the  multitudinous  sounds,  —  the  cries  of 
frightened  birds,  the  creaking  trees,  the  snap  of  break 
ing  boughs,  the  crash  of  falling  giants,  the  rush  of  the 
rain,  the  drumming  of  the  hail,  —  en  wound  them 
with  itself,  and  made  the  forest  like  a  great  shell  held 
close  to  the  ear. 

There  was  no  house  to  flee  to  ;  so  long  as  we  could 
face  the  hail  we  staggered  on,  heads  down,  buffeting 
the  wind  ;  but  at  last,  the  fury  of  the  storm  increas 
ing,  we  were  fain  to  throw  ourselves  upon  the  earth,  in 
a  little  brake,  where  an  overhanging  bank  somewhat 
broke  the  wind.  A  mighty  oak,  swaying  and  groaning 
above  us,  might  fall  and  crush  us  like  eggshells  ;  but 
if  we  went  on,  the  like  fate  might  meet  us  in  the  way. 
Broken  and  withered  limbs,  driven  by  the  wind,  went 
past  us  like  crooked  shadows  ;  it  grew  darker  and 
darker,  and  the  air  was  deadly  cold. 

The  three  Indians  pressed  their  faces  against  the 
ground  ;  they  dreamed  not  of  harm  from  us,  but  Okee 
was  in  the  merciless  hail  and  the  first  thunder  of  the 


340  TO  HAVE  AND   TO   HOLD 

year,  now  pealing  through  the  wood.  Suddenly  Die- 
con  raised  himself  upon  his  elbow,  and  looked  across 
at  me.  Our  eyes  had  no  sooner  met  than  his  hand 
was  at  his  bosom.  The  savage  nearest  him,  feeling 
the  movement,  as  it  were,  lifted  his  head  from  the 
earth,  of  which  it  was  so  soon  to  become  a  part ;  but 
if  he  saw  the  knife,  he  saw  it  too  late.  The  blade, 
driven  down  with  all  the  strength  of  a  desperate  man, 
struck  home ;  when  it  was  drawn  from  its  sheath  of 
flesh,  there  remained  to  us  but  a  foe  apiece. 

In  the  instant  of  its  descent  I  had  thrown  myself 
upon  the  Indian  nearest  me.  It  was  not  a  time  for 
overniceness.  If  I  could  have  done  so,  I  would  have 
struck  him  in  the  back  while  he  thought  no  harm  ;  as 
it  was,  some  subtle  instinct  warning  him,  he  whirled 
himself  over  in  time  to  strike  up  my  hand  and  to 
clench  with  me.  He  was  very  strong,  and  his  naked 
body,  wet  with  rain,  slipped  like  a  snake  from  my 
hold.  Over  and  over  we  rolled  on  the  rain-soaked 
moss  and  rotted  leaves  and  cold  black  earth,  the  hail 
blinding  us,  and  the  wind  shrieking  like  a  thousand 
watching  demons.  He  strove  to  reach  the  knife 
within  his  belt ;  I,  to  prevent  him,  and  to  strike  deep 
with  the  knife  I  yet  held. 

At  last  I  did  so.  Blood  gushed  over  my  hand  and 
wrist,  the  clutch  upon  my  arm  relaxed,  the  head  fell 
back.  The  dying  eyes  glared  into  mine ;  then  the 
lids  shut  forever  upon  that  unquenchable  hatred.  I 
staggered  to  my  feet  and  turned,  to  find  that  Diccon 
had  given  account  of  the  third  Indian. 

We  stood  up  in  the  hail  and  the  wind,  and  looked 
at  the  dead  men  at  our  feet.  Then,  without  speaking, 
we  went  our  way  through  the  tossing  forest,  with  the 
hailstones  coming  thick  against  us,  and  the  wind  a 


THE  RACE  IS  NOT  TO  THE  SWIFT          341 

strong  hand  to  push  us  back.  When  we  came  to  a 
little  trickling  spring,  we  knelt  and  washed  our  hands. 

The  hail  ceased,  but  the  rain  fell  and  the  wind  blew 
throughout  the  morning.  We  made  what  speed  we 
could  over  the  boggy  earth  against  the  storm,  but  we 
knew  that  we  were  measuring  miles  where  we  should 
have  measured  leagues.  There  was  no  breath  to  waste 
in  words,  and  thought  was  a  burden  quite  intolerable ; 
it  was  enough  to  stumble  on  through  the  partial  light, 
with  a  mind  as  gray  and  blank  as  the  rain-blurred 
distance. 

At  noon  the  clouds  broke,  and  an  hour  later  the 
sunshine  was  streaming  down  from  a  cloudless  heaven, 
beneath  which  the  forest  lay  clear  before  us,  naught 
stirring  save  shy  sylvan  creatures  to  whom  it  mattered 
not  if  red  man  or  white  held  the  land. 

Side  by  side  Diccon  and  I  hurried  on,  not  speaking, 
keeping  eye  and  ear  open,  proposing  with  all  our  will 
to  reach  the  goal  we  had  set,  and  to  reach  it  in  time, 
let  what  might  oppose.  It  was  but  another  forced 
march  ;  many  had  we  made  in  our  time,  through  dan 
gers  manifold,  and  had  lived  to  tell  the  tale. 

There  was  no  leisure  in  which  to  play  the  Indian 
and  cover  up  our  footprints  as  we  made  them,  but 
when  we  came  to  a  brook  we  stepped  into  the  cold, 
swift-flowing  water,  and  kept  it  company  for  a  while. 
The  brook  flowed  between  willows,  thickly  set,  already 
green,  and  overarching  a  yard  or  more  of  water. 
Presently  it  bent  sharply,  and  we  turned  with  it. 
Ten  yards  in  front  of  us  the  growth  of  willows  ceased 
abruptly,  the  low,  steep  banks  shelved  downwards  to 
a  grassy  level,  and  the  stream  widened  into  a  clear 
and  placid  pool,  as  blue  as  the  sky  above.  Crouched 
upon  the  grass  or  standing  in  the  shallow  water  were 


342  TO   HAVE  AND  TO   HOLD 

some  fifteen  or  twenty  deer.  We  had  come  upon 
them  without  noise  ;  the  wind  blew  from  them  to  us, 
and  the  willows  hid  us  from  their  sight.  There  was 
no  alarm,  and  we  stood  a  moment  watching  them  be 
fore  we  should  throw  a  stone  or  branch  into  their 
midst  and  scare  them  from  our  path. 

Suddenly,  as  we  looked,  the  leader  threw  up  his 
head,  made  a  spring,  and  was  off  like  a  dart,  across 
the  stream  and  into  the  depths  of  the  forest  beyond. 
The  herd  followed.  A  moment,  and  there  were  only 
the  trodden  grass  and  the  troubled  waters  ;  no  other 
sign  that  aught  living  had  passed  that  way. 

"  Now  what  was  that  for  ? "  muttered  Diccon. 
"  I  'm  thinking  we  had  best  not  take  to  the  open 
just  yet." 

For  answer  I  parted  the  willows,  and  forced  myself 
into  the  covert,  pressing  as  closely  as  possible  against 
the  bank,  and  motioning  him  to  do  the  same.  He 
obeyed,  and  the  thick-clustering  gold-green  twigs 
swung  into  place  again,  shutting  us  in  with  the  black 
water  and  the  leafy,  crumbling  bank.  From  that 
green  dimness  we  could  look  out  upon  the  pool  and  the 
grass,  with  small  fear  that  we  ourselves  would  be  seen. 

Out  of  the  shadow  of  the  trees  into  the  grassy  space 
stepped  an  Indian;  a  second  followed,  a  third,  a 
fourth,  —  one  by  one  they  came  from  the  gloom  into 
the  sunlight,  until  we  had  counted  a  score  or  more. 
They  made  no  pause,  a  glance  telling  them  to  what 
were  due  the  trampled  grass  and  the  muddied  water. 
As  they  crossed  the  stream  one  stooped  and  drank  from 
his  hand,  but  they  said  no  word  and  made  no  noise. 
All  were  painted  black;  a  few  had  face  and  chest 
striped  with  yellow.  Their  headdresses  were  tall  and 
wonderful,  their  leggings  and  moccasins  fringed  with 


THE  RACE  IS  NOT  TO  THE   SWIFT         343 

scalp  locks ;  their  hatchets  glinted  in  the  sunshine, 
and  their  quivers  were  stuck  full  of  arrows.  One  by 
one  they  glided  from  the  stream  into  the  thick  woods 
beyond.  We  waited  until  we  knew  that  they  were 
deep  in  the  forest,  then  crept  from  the  willows  and 
went  our  way. 

"  They  were  Youghtenunds,"  I  said,  in  the  low  tones 
we  used  when  we  spoke  at  all,  "  and  they  went  to  the 
southward." 

"  We  may  thank  our  stars  that  they  missed  our 
trail,"  Diccon  answered. 

We  spoke  no  more,  but,  leaving  the  stream,  struck 
again  toward  the  south.  The  day  wore  on,  and  still 
we  went  without  pause.  Sun  and  shade  and  keen 
wind,  long  stretches  of  pine  and  open  glades  where  we 
quickened  our  pace  to  a  run,  dense  woods,  snares  of 
leafless  vines,  swamp  and  thicket  through  which  we 
toiled  so  slowly  that  the  heart  bled  at  the  delay, 
streams  and  fallen  trees,  —  on  and  on  we  hurried, 
until  the  sun  sank  and  the  dusk  came  creeping  in 
upon  us. 

"  We  've  dined  with  Duke  Humphrey  to-day,"  said 
Diccon  at  last ;  "  but  if  we  can  keep  this  pace,  and 
don't  meet  any  more  war  parties,  or  fall  foul  of  an  In 
dian  village,  or  have  to  fight  the  wolves  to-night,  we  '11 
dine  with  the  Governor  to-morrow.  What 's  that  ?  " 

"  That "  was  the  report  of  a  musket,  and  a  spent 
ball  had  struck  me  above  the  knee,  bruising  the  flesh 
beneath  the  leather  of  my  boot. 

We  wheeled,  and  looked  in  the  direction  whence 
had  come  that  unwelcome  visitor.  There  was  naught 
to  be  seen.  It  was  dusk  in  the  distance,  and  there 
were  thickets  too,  and  fallen  logs.  Where  that  am 
buscade  was  planted,  if  one  or  twenty  Indians  lurked 


344  TO  HAVE  AND  TO   HOLD 

in  the  dusk  behind  the  trees,  or  lay  on  the  further 
side  of  those  logs,  or  crouched  within  a  thicket,  no 
mortal  man  could  tell. 

"  It  was  a  spent  ball,"  I  said.  "  Our  best  hope  is 
in  our  heels." 

"  There  are  pines  beyond,  and  smooth  going,"  he 
answered ;  "  but  if  ever  I  thought  to  run  from  an 
Indian  ! " 

Without  more  ado  we  started.  If  we  could  outstrip 
that  marksman,  if  we  could  even  hold  our  distance 
until  night  had  fallen,  all  might  yet  be  well.  A  little 
longer,  and  even  an  Indian  must  fire  at  random ; 
moreover,  we  might  reach  some  stream  and  manage 
to  break  our  trail.  The  ground  was  smooth  before 
us?  —  too  smooth,  and  slippery  with  pine  needles  ;  the 
pines  themselves  stood  in  grim  brown  rows,  and  we 
ran  between  them  lightly  and  easily,  husbanding  our 
strength.  Now  and  again  one  or  the  other  looked 
behind,  but  we  saw  only  the  pines  and  the  gathering 
dusk.  Hope  was  strengthening  in  us,  when  a  second 
bullet  dug  into  the  earth  just  beyond  us. 

Diccon  swore  beneath  his  breath.  "  It  struck  deep," 
he  muttered.  "  The  dark  is  slow  in  coming." 

A  minute  later,  as  I  ran  with  my  head  over  my 
shoulder,  I  saw  our  pursuer,  dimly,  like  a  deeper 
shadow  in  the  shadows  far  down  the  arcade  behind  us. 
There  was  but  one  man,  —  a  tall  warrior,  strayed 
aside  from  his  band,  perhaps,  or  bound  upon  a  war 
path  of  his  own.  The  musket  that  he  carried  some 
English  fool  had  sold  him  for  a  mess  of  pottage. 

Putting  forth  all  our  strength,  we  ran  for  our  lives, 
and  for  the  lives  of  many  others.  Before  us  the  pine 
wood  sloped  down  to  a  deep  and  wide  thicket,  and 
beyond  the  thicket  a  line  of  sycamores  promised  water. 


THE  RACE  IS  NOT  TO   THE   SWIFT          345 

If  we  could  reach  the  thicket,  its  close  embrace  would 
hide  us,  —  then  the  darkness  and  the  stream.  A  third 
shot,  and  Diccon  staggered  slightly. 

"  For  God's  sake,  not  struck,  man?  "  I  cried. 

"  It  grazed  my  arm,"  he  panted.  "  No  harm  done. 
Here 's  the  thicket !  " 

Into  the  dense  growth  we  broke,  reckless  of  the 
blood  which  the  sharp  twigs  drew  from  face  and  hands. 
The  twigs  met  in  a  thick  roof  over  our  heads ;  that 
was  all  we  cared  for,  and  through  the  network  we  saw 
one  of  the  larger  stars  brighten  into  being.  The 
thicket  was  many  yards  across.  When  we  had  gone 
thirty  feet  down  we  crouched  and  waited  for  the  dark. 
If  our  enemy  followed  us,  he  must  do  so  at  his  peril, 
with  only  his  knife  for  dependence. 

One  by  one  the  stars  swam  into  sight,  until  the 
square  of  sky  above  us  was  thickly  studded.  There 
was  no  sound,  and  no  living  thing  could  have  entered 
that  thicket  without  noise.  For  what  seemed  an  eter 
nity,  we  waited  ;  then  we  rose  and  broke  our  way 
through  the  bushes  to  the  sycamores,  to  find  that  they 
indeed  shadowed  a  little  sluggish  stream. 

Down  this  we  waded  for  some  distance  before  taking 
to  dry  earth  again.  Since  entering  the  thicket  we 
had  seen  and  heard  nothing  suspicious,  and  were  now 
fain  to  conclude  that  the  dark  warrior  had  wearied  of 
the  chase,  and  was  gone  on  his  way  toward  his  mates 
and  that  larger  and  surer  quarry  which  two  suns  would 
bring.  Certain  it  is  that  we  saw  no  more  of  him. 

The  stream  flowing  to  the  south,  we  went  with  it, 
hurrying  along  its  bank,  beneath  the  shadow  of  great 
trees,  with  the  stars  gleaming  down  through  the 
branches.  It  was  cold  and  still,  and  far  in  the  dis 
tance  we  heard  wolves  hunting.  As  for  me,  I  felt  no 


346  TO   HAVE  AND  TO   HOLD 

weariness.  Every  sense  was  sharpened  ;  my  feet  were 
light ;  the  keen  air  was  like  wine  in  the  drinking ; 
there  was  a  star  low  in  the  south  that  shone  and  beck 
oned.  The  leagues  between  my  wife  and  me  were  few. 
I  saw  her  standing  beneath  the  star,  with  a  little  purple 
flower  in  her  hand. 

Suddenly,  a  bend  in  the  stream  hiding  the  star,  1 
became  aware  that  Diccon  was  no  longer  keeping  step 
with  me,  but  had  fallen  somewhat  to  the  rear.  I 
turned,  and  he  was  leaning  heavily,  with  drooping 
head,  against  the  trunk  of  a  tree. 

"Art  so  worn  as  that?"  I  exclaimed.  "Put  more 
heart  into  thy  heels,  man !  " 

He  straightened  himself  and  strode  on  beside  me. 
"  I  don't  know  what  came  over  me  for  a  minute,"  he 
answered.  "  The  wolves  are  loud  to-night.  I  hope 
they  '11  keep  to  their  side  of  the  water." 

A  stone's  throw  farther  on,  the  stream  curving  to 
the  west,  we  left  it,  and  found  ourselves  in  a  sparsely 
wooded  glade,  with  a  bare  and  sandy  soil  beneath  our 
feet,  and  above,  in  the  western  sky,  a  crescent  moon. 
Again  Diccon  lagged  behind,  and  presently  I  heard 
him  groan  in  the  darkness. 

I  wheeled.  "  Diccon  !  "  I  cried.  "  What  is  the 
matter?" 

Before  I  could  reach  him  he  had  sunk  to  his  knees. 
When  I  put  my  hand  upon  his  arm  and  again  de 
manded  what  ailed  him,  he  tried  to  laugh,  then  tried 
to  swear,  and  ended  with  another  groan.  "  The  ball 
did  graze  my  arm,"  he  said,  "  but  it  went  on  into  my 
side.  I  '11  just  lie  here  and  die,  and  wish  you  well  at 
Jamestown.  When  the  red  imps  come  against  you 
there,  and  you  open  fire  on  them,  name  a  bullet  for 
me." 


CHAPTER   XXXV 
IN  WHICH  I  COME  TO  THE  GOVERNOR'S   HOUSE 

I  LAID  him  down  upon  the  earth,  and,  cutting  away 
his  doublet  and  the  shirt  beneath,  saw  the  wound,  and 
knew  that  there  was  a  journey  indeed  that  he  would 
shortly  make.  "  The  world  is  turning  round,"  he 
muttered,  "  and  the  stars  are  falling  thicker  than  the 
hailstones  yesterday.  Go  on,  and  I  will  stay  behind, 
—  I  and  the  wolves." 

I  took  him  in  my  arms  and  carried  him  back  to  the 
bank  of  the  stream,  for  I  knew  that  he  would  want 
water  until  he  died.  My  head  was  bare,  but  he  had 
worn  his  cap  from  the  gaol  at  Jamestown  that  night. 
I  filled  it  with  water  and  gave  him  to  drink;  then 
washed  the  wound  and  did  what  I  could  to  stanch  the 
bleeding.  He  turned  from  side  to  side,  and  presently 
his  mind  began  to  wander,  and  he  talked  of  the  to 
bacco  in  the  fields  at  Weyanoke.  Soon  he  was  raving 
of  old  things,  old  carnp  fires  and  night-time  marches 
and  wild  skirmishes,  perils  by  land  and  by  sea;  then 
of  dice  and  wine  and  women.  Once  he  cried  out  that 
Dale  had  bound  him  upon  the  wheel,  and  that  his  arms 
and  legs  were  broken,  and  the  woods  rang  to  his 
screams.  Why,  in  that  wakeful  forest,  they  were 
unheard,  or  why,  if  heard,  they  went  unheeded,  God 
only  knows. 

The  moon  went  down,  and  it  was  very  cold.  How 
black  were  the  shadows  around  us,  what  foes  might 


348  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

steal  from  that  darkness  upon  us,  it  was  not  worth 
while  to  consider.  I  do  not  know  what  I  thought  of 
on  that  night,  or  even  that  I  thought  at  all.  Between 
my  journeys  for  the  water  that  he  called  for  I  sat 
beside  the  dying  man  with  my  hand  upon  his  breast, 
for  he  was  quieter  so.  Now  and  then  I  spoke  to  him, 
but  he  answered  not. 

Hours  before  we  had  heard  the  howling  of  wolves, 
and  knew  that  some  ravenous  pack  was  abroad.  With 
the  setting  of  the  moon  the  noise  had  ceased,  and  I 
thought  that  the  brutes  had  pulled  down  the  deer  they 
hunted,  or  else  had  gone  with  their  hunger  and  their 
dismal  voices  out  of  earshot.  Suddenly  the  howling 
recommenced,  at  first  faint  and  far  away,  then  nearer 
and  nearer  yet.  Earlier  in  the  evening  the  stream 
had  been  between  us,  but  now  the  wolves  had  crossed 
and  were  coming  down  our  side  of  the  water,  and 
were  coming  fast. 

All  the  ground  was  strewn  with  dead  wood,  and 
near  by  was  a  growth  of  low  and  brittle  bushes.  I 
gathered  the  withered  branches,  and  broke  fagots  from 
the  bushes ;  then  into  the  press  of  dark  and  stealthy 
forms  I  threw  a  great  crooked  stick,  shouting  as  I 
did  so,  and  threatening  with  my  arms.  They  turned 
and  fled,  but  presently  they  were  back  again.  Again 
I  frightened  them  away,  and  again  they  returned.  I 
had  flint  and  steel  and  tinder  box  ;  when  I  had  scared 
them  from  us  a  third  time,  and  they  had  gone  only  a 
little  way,  I  lit  a  splinter  of  pine,  and  with  it  fired 
my  heap  of  wood ;  then  dragged  Diccon  into  the  light 
and  sat  down  beside  him,  with  no  longer  any  fear  of 
the  wolves,  but  with  absolute  confidence  in  the  quick 
appearance  of  less  cowardly  foes.  There  was  wood 
enough  and  to  spare ;  when  the  fire  sank  low  and  the 


I  COME  TO  THE  GOVERNOR'S  HOUSE       349 

hungry  eyes  -gleamed  nearer,  I  fed  it  again,  and  the 
flame  leaped  up  and  mocked  the  eyes. 

No  human  enemy  came  upon  us.  The  fire  blazed 
and  roared,  and  the  man  who  lay  in  its  rosy  glare 
raved  on,  crying  out  now  and  then  at  the  top  of  his 
voice ;  but  on  that  night  of  all  nights,  of  all  years, 
light  and  voice  drew  no  savage  band  to  put  out  the  one 
and  silence  the  other  forever. 

Hours  passed,  and  as  it  drew  toward  midnight  Die- 
con  sank  into  a  stupor.  I  knew  that  the  end  was 
not  far  away.  The  wolves  were  gone  at  last,  and  my 
fire  was  dying  down.  He  needed  my  touch  upon  his 
breast  no  longer,  and  I  went  to  the  stream  and  bathed 
my  hands  and  forehead,  and  then  threw  myself  face 
downward  upon  the  bank.  In  a  little  while  the  deso 
late  murmur  of  the  water  became  intolerable,  and  I 
rose  and  went  back  to  the  fire,  and  to  the  man  whom, 
as  God  lives,  I  loved  as  a  brother. 

He  was  conscious.  Pale  and  cold  and  nigh  gone 
as  he  was,  there  came  a  light  to  his  eyes  and  a  smile 
to  his  lips  when  I  knelt  beside  him.  "  You  did  not 
go  ?  "  he  breathed. 

"  No,"  I  answered,  "  I  did  not  go." 

For  a  few  minutes  he  lay  with  closed  eyes;  when  he 
again  opened  them  upon  my  face,  there  were  in  their 
depths  a  question  and  an  appeal.  I  bent  over  him, 
and  asked  him  what  he  would  have. 

"  You  know,"  he  whispered.  "  If  you  can  ...  I 
would  not  go  without  it." 

"  Is  it  that?  "  I  asked.     "  I  forgave  you  long  ago." 

"  I  meant  to  kill  }^ou.  I  was  mad  because  you 
struck  me  before  the  lady,  and  because  I  had  betrayed 
my  trust.  An  you  had  not  caught  my  hand,  I  should 
be  your  murderer."  He  spoke  with  long  intervals 


3oO  TO   HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

between  the  words,  and  the  death  dew  was  on  his  fore 
head. 

"  Remember  it  not,  Diccon,"  I  entreated.  "  I  too 
was  to  blame.  And  I  see  not  that  night  for  other 
nights,  —  for  other  nights  and  days,  Diccon." 

He  smiled,  but  there  was  still  in  his  face  a  shadowy 
eagerness.  "  You  said  you  would  never  strike  me 
again,"  he  went  on,  "and  that  I  was  man  of  yours  no 
more  forever  —  and  you  gave  me  my  freedom  in  the 
paper  which  I  tore."  He  spoke  in  gasps,  with  his 
eyes  upon  mine.  "  I  '11  be  gone  in  a  few  minutes  now. 
If  I  might  go  as  your  man  still,  and  could  tell  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  that  my  master  on  earth  forgave, 
and  took  back,  it  would  be  a  hand  in  the  dark.  I 
have  spent  my  life  in  gathering  darkness  for  myself  at 
the  last." 

I  bent  lower  over  him,  and  took  his  hand  in  mine. 
"  Diccon,  my  man,"  I  said. 

A  brightness  came  into  his  face,  and  he  faintly 
pressed  my  hand.  I  slipped  my  arm  beneath  him  and 
raised  him  a  little  higher  to  meet  his  death.  He  was 
smiling  now,  and  his  mind  was  not  quite  clear.  "  Do 
you  mind,  sir,"  he  asked,  "  how  green  and  strong  and 
sweet  smelled  the  pines  that  May  day,  when  we  found 
Virginia,  so  many  years  ago  ?  " 

"Ay,  Diccon,"  I  answered.  "Before  we  saw  the 
land,  the  fragance  told  us  we  were  near  it." 

"  I  smell  it  now,"  he  went  on,  "  and  the  bloom  of 
the  grape,  and  the  May-time  flowers.  And  can  you 
not  hear,  sir,  the  whistling  and  the  laughter  and  the 
sound  of  the  falling  trees,  that  merry  time  when  Smith 
made  axemen  of  all  our  fine  gentlemen  ?  " 

"Ay,  Diccon,"  I  said.  "And  the  sound  of  the 
water  that  was  dashed  down  the  sleeve  of  any  that 
were  caught  in  an  oath." 


I  COME  TO  THE  GOVERNOR'S  HOUSE   351 

He  laughed  like  a  little  child.  "  It  is  well  that  I 
was  n't  a  gentleman,  and  had  not  those  trees  to  fell, 
or  I  should  have  been  as  wet  as  any  merman.  .  .  . 
And  Pocahontas,  the  little  maid  .  .  .  and  how  blue 
the  sky  was,  and  how  glad  we  were  what  time  the 
Patience  and  Deliverance  came  in !  " 

His  voice  failed,  and  for  a  minute  I  thought  he 
was  gone  ;  but  he  had  been  a  strong  man,  and  life 
slipped  not  easily  from  him.  When  his  eyes  opened 
again  he  knew  me  not,  but  thought  he  was  in  some 
tavern,  and  struck  with  his  hand  upon  the  ground  as 
upon  a  table,  and  called  for  the  drawer. 

Around  him  were  only  the  stillness  and  the  shadows 
of  the  night,  but  to  his  vision  men  sat  and  drank 
with  him,  diced  and  swore  and  told  wild  tales  of  this 
or  that.  For  a  time  he  talked  loudly  and  at  random 
of  the  vile  quality  of  the  drink,  and  his  viler  luck  at 
the  dice ;  then  he  began  to  tell  a  story.  As  he  told 
it,  his  senses  seemed  to  steady,  and  he  spoke  with 
coherence  and  like  a  shadow  of  himself. 

"  And  you  call  that  a  great  thing,  William  Host  ?  " 
he  demanded.  "  I  can  tell  a  true  tale  worth  two 
such  lies,  my  masters.  (Robin  tapster,  more  ale  ! 
And  move  less  like  a  slug,  or  my  tankard  and  your 
ear  will  cry,  '  Well  met ! ')  It  was  between  Ypres 
and  Courtrai,  friends,  and  it 's  nigh  fifteen  years  ago. 
There  were  fields  in  which  nothing  was  sowed  because 
they  were  ploughed  with  the  hoofs  of  war  horses,  and 
ditches  in  which  dead  men  were  thrown,  and  dismal 
marshes,  and  roads  that  were  no  roads  at  all,  but  only 
sloughs.  And  there  was  a  great  stone  house,  old  and 
ruinous,  with  tall  poplars  shivering  in  the  rain  and 
mist.  Into  this  house  there  threw  themselves  a  band 
of  Dutch  and  English,  and  hard  on  their  heels  came 


352  TO  HAVE  AND  TO   HOLD 

two  hundred  Spaniards.  All  day  they  besieged  that 
house,  —  smoke  and  flame  and  thunder  and  shouting 
and  the  crash  of  masonry,  —  and  when  eventide  was 
come  we,  the  Dutch  and  the  English,  thought  that 
Death  was  not  an  hour  behind." 

He  paused,  and  made  a  gesture  of  raising  a  tankard 
to  his  lips.  His  eyes  were  bright,  his  voice  was  firm. 
The  memory  of  that  old  day  and  its  mortal  strife  had 
wrought  upon  him  like  wine. 

"  There  was  one  amongst  us,"  he  said,  "  he  was 
our  captain,  and  it 's  of  him  I  am  going  to  tell  the 
story.  Robin  tapster,  bring  me  no  more  ale,  but  good 
mulled  wine !  It 's  cold  and  getting  dark,  and  I  have 
to  drink  to  a  brave  man  besides  "  — 

With  the  old  bold  laugh  in  his  eyes,  he  raised  him 
self,  for  the  moment  as  strong  as  I  that  held  him. 
"  Drink  to  that  Englishman,  all  of  ye !  "  he  cried, 
"  and  not  in  filthy  ale,  but  in  good,  gentlemanly  sack ! 
I  '11  pay  the  score.  Here  's  to  him,  brave  hearts ! 
Here  's  to  my  master  !  " 

With  his  hand  at  his  mouth,  and  his  story  untold, 
he  fell  back.  I  held  him  in  my  arms  until  the  brief 
struggle  was  over,  and  then  laid  his  body  down  upon 
the  earth. 

It  might  have  been  one  of  the  clock.  For  a  little 
while  I  sat  beside  him,  with  my  head  bowed  in  my 
hands.  Then  I  straightened  his  limbs  and  crossed  his 
hands  upon  his  breast,  and  kissed  him  upon  the  brow, 
and  left  him  lying  dead  in  the  forest. 

It  was  hard  going  through  the  blackness  of  the 
night-time  woods.  Once  I  was  nigh  sucked  under  in 
a  great  swamp,  and  once  I  stumbled  into  some  hole  or 
pit  in  the  earth,  and  for  a  time  thought  that  I  had 
broken  my  leg.  The  night  was  very  dark,  and  some- 


I  COME  TO  THE  GOVERNOR'S  HOUSE   353 

times  when  I  could  not  see  the  stars,  I  lost  my  way, 
and  went  to  the  right  or  the  left,  or  even  back  upon 
my  track.  Though  I  heard  the  wolves,  they  did  not 
come  nigh  me.  Just  before  daybreak,  I  crouched 
behind  a  log,  and  watched  a  party  of  savages  file  past 
like  shadows  of  the  night. 

At  last  the  dawn  came,  and  I  could  press  on  more 
rapidly.  For  two  days  and  two  nights  I  had  not 
slept ;  for  a  day  and  a  night  I  had  not  tasted  food. 
As  the  sun  climbed  the  heavens,  a  thousand  black 
spots,  like  summer  gnats,  danced  between  his  face 
and  my  weary  eyes.  The  forest  laid  stumbling-blocks 
before  me,  and  drove  me  back,  and  made  me  wind  in 
and  out  when  I  would  have  had  my  path  straighter 
than  an  arrow.  When  the  ground  allowed  I  ran; 
when  I  must  break  my  way,  panting,  through  under 
growth  so  dense  and  stubborn  that  it  seemed  some 
enchanted  thicket,  where  each  twig  snapped  but  to  be 
on  the  instant  stiff  in  place  again,  I  broke  it  with  what 
patience  I  might ;  when  I  must  turn  aside  for  this 
or  that  obstacle  I  made  the  detour,  though  my  heart 
cried  out  at  the  necessity.  Once  I  saw  reason  to 
believe  that  two  or  more  Indians  were  upon  my  trail, 
and  lost  time  in  outwitting  them ;  and  once  I  must 
go  a  mile  out  of  my  way  to  avoid  an  Indian  village. 

As  the  day  wore  on,  I  began  to  go  as  in  a  dream. 
It  had  come  to  seem  the  gigantic  wood  of  some  fan 
tastic  tale  through  which  I  was  traveling.  The  fallen 
trees  ranged  themselves  into  an  abatis  hard  to  sur 
mount  ;  the  thickets  withstood  one  like  iron ;  the 
streamlets  were  like  rivers,  the  marshes  leagues  wide, 
the  treetops  miles  away.  Little  things,  twisted  roots, 
trailing  vines,  dead  and  rotten  wood,  made  me  stum 
ble.  A  wind  was  blowing  that  had  blown  just  so 


354  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

since  time  began,  and  the  forest  was  filled  with  the 
sound  of  the  sea. 

Afternoon  came,  and  the  shadows  began  to  lengthen. 
They  were  lines  of  black  paint  spilt  in  a  thousand 
places,  and  stealing  swiftly  and  surely  across  the 
brightness  of  the  land.  Torn  and  bleeding  and 
breathless,  I  hastened  on ;  for  it  was  drawing  toward 
night,  and  I  should  have  been  at  Jamestown  hours 
before.  My  head  pained  me,  and  as  I  ran  I  saw  men 
and  women  stealing  in  and  out  among  the  trees 
before  me :  Pocahontas  with  her  wistful  eyes  and 
braided  hair  and  finger  on  her  lips ;  Nantauquas ; 
Dale,  the  knight-marshal,  and  Argall  with  his  fierce, 
unscrupulous  face  ;  my  cousin  George  Percy,  and  my 
mother  with  her  stately  figure,  her  embroidery  in  her 
hands.  I  knew  that  they  were  but  phantoms  of  my 
brain,  but  their  presence  confused  and  troubled  me. 

The  shadows  ran  together,  and  the  sunshine  died 
out  of  the  forest.  Stumbling  on,  I  saw  through  the 
thinning  trees  a  long  gleam  of  red,  and  thought  it 
was  blood,  but  presently  knew  that  it  was  the  river, 
crimson  from  the  sunset.  A  minute  more  and  I  stood 
upon  the  shore  of  the  mighty  stream,  between  the 
two  brightnesses  of  flood  and  heavens.  There  was  a 
silver  crescent  in  the  sky  with  one  white  star  above 
it,  and  fair  in  sight,  down  the  James,  with  lights 
springing  up  through  the  twilight,  was  the  town,  — 
the  English  town  that  we  had  built  and  named  for 
our  King,  and  had  held  in  the  teeth  of  Spain,  in  the 
teeth  of  the  wilderness  and  its  terrors.  It  was  not 
a  mile  away ;  a  little  longer,  —  a  little  longer  and  I 
could  rest,  with  my  tidings  told. 

The  dusk  had  quite  fallen  when  I  reached  the  neck 
of  land.  The  hut  to  which  I  had  been  enticed  that 


I  COME  TO  THE  GOVERNOR'S  HOUSE   355 

night  stood  dark  and  ghastly,  with  its  door  swinging 
in  the  wind.  I  ran  past  it  and  across  the  neck,  and, 
arriving  at  the  palisade,  beat  upon  the  gate  with  my 
hands,  and  called  to  the  warder  to  open.  When  I  had 
told  him  my  name  and  tidings,  he  did  so,  with  shaking 
knees  and  starting  eyes.  Cautioning  him  to  raise  no 
alarm  in  the  town,  I  hurried  by  him  into  the  street, 
and  down  it  toward  the  house  that  was  set  aside  for 
the  Governor  of  Virginia.  I  should  find  there  now, 
not  Yeardley,  but  Sir  Francis  Wyatt. 

The  torches  were  lighted,  and  the  folk  were  indoors, 
for  the  night  was  cold.  One  or  two  figures  that  I 
met  or  passed  would  have  accosted  me,  not  knowing 
who  I  was,  but  I  brushed  by  them,  and  hastened  on. 
Only  when  I  passed  the  guest  house  I  looked  up,  and 
saw  that  mine  host's  chief  rooms  were  yet  in  use. 

The  Governor's  door  was  open,  and  in  the  hall 
servingmen  were  moving  to  and  fro.  When^I  came 
in  upon  them,  they  cried  out  as  it  had  been  a  ghost, 
and  one  fellow  let  a  silver  dish  that  he  carried  fall 
clattering  to  the  floor.  They  shook  and  stood  back, 
as  I  passed  them  without  a  word,  and  went  on  to  the 
Governor's  great  room.  The  door  was  ajar,  and  I 
pushed  it  open  and  stood  for  a  minute  upon  the  thresh 
old,  unobserved  by  the  occupants  of  the  room. 

After  the  darkness  outside  the  lights  dazzled  me ; 
the  room,  too,  seemed  crowded  with  men,  though  when 
I  counted  them  there  were  not  so  many,  after  all. 
Supper  had  been  put  upon  the  table,  but  they  were  not 
eating.  Before  the  fire,  his  head  thoughtfully  bent, 
and  his  fingers  tapping  upon  the  arm  of  his  chair, 
sat  the  Governor ;  over  against  him,  and  as  serious  of 
aspect,  was  the  Treasurer.  West  stood  by  the  mantel, 
tugging  at  his  long  mustaches  and  softly  swearing. 


356  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

Clayborne  was  in  the  room,  Piersey  the  Cape  Mer 
chant,  and  one  or  two  besides.  And  Rolfe  was  there, 
walking  up  and  down  with  hasty  steps,  and  a  flushed 
and  haggard  face.  His  suit  of  buff  was  torn  and 
stained,  and  his  great-boots  were  spattered  with  mud. 

The  Governor  let  his  ringers  rest  upon  the  arm  of 
his  chair,  and  raised  his  head. 

"  He  is  dead,  Master  Rolfe,"  he  said.  "  There  can 
be  no  other  conclusion,  —  a  brave  man  lost  to  you  and 
to  the  colony.  We  mourn  with  you,  sir." 

"  We  too  have  searched,  Jack,"  put  in  West.  "  We 
have  not  been  idle,  though  well-nigh  all  men  believe 
that  the  Indians,  who  we  know  had  a  grudge  against 
him,  murdered  him  and  his  man  that  night,  then  threw 
their  bodies  into  the  river,  and  themselves  made  off 
out  of  our  reach.  But  we  hoped  against  hope  that 
when  your  party  returned  he  would  be  in  your  midst." 

"As  for  this  latest  loss,"  continued  the  Governor, 
"within  an  hour  of  its  discovery  this  morning  search 
parties  were  out ;  yea,  if  I  had  allowed  it,  the  whole 
town  would  have  betaken  itself  to  the  woods.  The 
searchers  have  not  returned,  and  we  are  gravely 
anxious.  Yet  we  are  not  utterly  cast  down.  This  trail 
can  hardly  be  missed,  and  the  Indians  are  friendly. 
There  were  a  number  in  town  overnight,  and  they 
went  with  the  searchers,  volunteering  to  act  as  their 
guides.  We  cannot  but  think  that  of  this  load,  our 
hearts  will  soon  be  eased." 

"  God  grant  it !  "  groaned  Rolfe.  "  I  will  drink 
but  a  cup  of  wine,  sir,  and  then  will  be  gone  upon  this 
new  quest." 

There  was  a  movement  in  the  room.  "  You  are 
worn  and  spent  with  your  fruitless  travel,  sir,"  said 
the  Governor  kindly.  "  I  give  you  my  word  that  all 


I  COME  TO  THE  GOVERNOR'S  HOUSE   357 

that  can  be  done  is  doing.  Wait  at  least  for  the 
morning,  and  the  good  news  it  may  bring." 

The  other  shook  his  head.  "  I  will  go  now.  I 
could  not  look  my  friend  in  the  face  else  —  God  in 
heaven !  " 

The  Governor  sprang  to  his  feet ;  through  the 
Treasurer's  lips  came  a  long,  sighing  breath  ;  West's 
dark  face  was  ashen.  I  came  forward  to  the  table, 
and  leaned  my  weight  upon  it ;  for  all  the  waves  of 
the  sea  were  roaring  in  my  ears,  and  the  lights  were 
going  up  and  down. 

"Are  you  man  or  spirit?"  cried  Eolfe  through 
white  lips.  "Are  you  Ralph  Percy?" 

'•  Yes,  I  am  Percy,"  I  said.  "  I  have  not  well 
understood  what  quest  you  would  go  upon,  Kolfe, 
but  you  cannot  go  to-night.  And  those  parties  that 
your  Honor  talked  of,  that  have  gone  with  Indians  to 
guide  them  to  look  for  some  lost  person,  —  I  think 
that  you  will  never  see  them  again." 

With  an  effort  I  drew  myself  erect,  and  standing  so 
told  my  tidings,  quietly  and  with  circumstance,  so  as 
to  leave  no  room  for  doubt  as  to  their  verity,  or  as  to 
the  sanity  of  him  who  brought  them.  They  listened, 
as  the  warder  had  listened,  with  shaking  limbs  and 
gasping  breath  ;  for  this  was  the  fall  and  wiping  out 
of  a  people  of  which  I  brought  warning. 

When  all  was  told,  and  they  stood  there  before  me, 
white  and  shaken,  seeking  in  their  minds  the  thing  to 
say  or  do  first,  I  thought  to  ask  a  question  myself ; 
but  before  my  tongue  could  frame  it,  the  roaring  of 
the  sea  became  so  loud  that  I  could  hear  naught  else, 
and  the  lights  all  ran  together  into  a  wheel  of  fire. 
Then  in  a  moment  all  sounds  ceased,  and  to  the  lights 
succeeded  the  blackness  of  outer  darkness. 


CHAPTER   XXXVI 

IN   WHICH   I   HEAR   ILL   NEWS 

WHEN  I  awoke  from  the  sleep  or  stupor  into  which 
I  must  have  passed  from  that  swoon,  it  was  to  find 
myself  lying  upon  a  bed  in  a  room  flooded  with  sun 
shine.  I  was  alone.  For  a  moment  I  lay  still,  staring 
at  the  blue  sky  without  the  window,  and  wondering 
where  I  was  and  how  I  came  there.  A  drum  beat, 
a  dog  barked,  and  a  man's  quick  voice  gave  a  com 
mand.  The  sounds  stung  me  into  remembrance,  and 
I  was  at  the  window  while  the  voice  was  yet  speaking. 

It  was  West  in  the  street  below,  pointing  with  his 
sword  now  to  the  fort,  now  to  the  palisade,  and  giving 
directions  to  the  armed  men  about  him.  There  were 
many  people  in  the  street.  Women  hurried  by  to  the 
fort  with  white,  scared  faces,  their  arms  filled  with 
household  gear ;  children  ran  beside  them,  sturdily 
bearing  their  share  of  the  goods,  but  pressing  close  to 
their  elders'  skirts;  men  went  to  and  fro,  the  most 
grimly  silent,  but  a  few  talking  loudly.  Not  all  of 
the  faces  in  the  crowd  belonged  to  the  town  :  there 
were  Kingsmell  and  his  wife  from  the  main,  and  John 
Ellison  from  Archer's  Hope,  and  the  Italians  Vincen- 
cio  and  Bernardo  from  the  Glass  House.  The  nearer 
plantations,  then,  had  been  warned,  and  their  people 
had  come  for  refuge  to  the  city.  A  negro  passed,  but 
on  that  morning,  alone  of  many  days,  no  Indian  aired 
his  paint  and  feathers  in  the  white  man's  village. 


IN  WHICH  I  HEAR  ILL  NEWS  359 

I  could  not  see  the  palisade  across  the  neck,  but  I 
knew  that  it  was  there  that  the  fight  —  if  fight  there 
were  —  would  be  made.  Should  the  Indians  take  the 
palisade,  there  would  yet  be  the  houses  of  the  town, 
and,  last  of  all,  the  fort  in  which  to  make  a  stand.  I 
believed  not  that  they  would  take  it.  Long  since  we 
had  found  out  their  method  of  warfare.  They  used 
ambuscade,  surprise,  and  massacre  ;  when  withstood 
in  force  and  with  determination  they  withdrew  to 
their  stronghold  the  forest,  there  to  bide  their  time 
until,  in  the  blackness  of  some  night,  they  could  again 
swoop  down  upon  a  sleeping  foe. 

The  drum  beat  again,  and  a  messenger  from  the 
palisade  came  down  the  street  at  a  run.  "  They  're  in 
the  woods  over  against  us,  thicker  than  ants  !  "  he 
cried  to  West  as  he  passed.  "  A  boat  has  just  drifted 
ashore  yonder,  with  two  men  in  it,  dead  and  scalped  !  " 

I  turned  to  leave  the  room,  and  ran  against  Master 
Pory  coming  in  on  tiptoe,  with  a  red  and  solemn  face. 
He  started  when  he  saw  me. 

"  The  roll  of  the  drum  brought  you  to  your  feet, 
then !  "  he  cried.  "  You  've  lain  like  the  dead  all 
night.  I  came  but  to  see  if  you  were  breathing." 

44  When  I  have  eaten,  I  shall  be  myself  again,"  I 
said.  "  There  's  no  attack  as  yet  ?  " 

44  No,"  he  answered.  "  They  must  know  that  we 
are  prepared.  But  they  have  kindled  fires  along  the 
river  bank,  and  we  can  hear  them  yelling.  Whether 
they  '11  be  mad  enough  to  come  against  us  remains  to 
be  seen." 

44  The  nearest  settlements  have  been  warned  ?  V 

"  Ay.  The  Governor  offered  a  thousand  pounds  of 
tobacco  and  the  perpetual  esteem  of  the  Company  to 
the  man  or  men  who  would  carry  the  news.  Six  vol- 


360  TO   HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

unteered,  and  went  off  in  boats,  three  up  river,  three 
down.  How  many  they  reached,  or  if  they  still  have 
their  scalps,  we  know  not.  And  awhile  ago,  just  be 
fore  daybreak,  comes  with  frantic  haste  Richard  Pace, 
who  had  rowed  up  from  Pace's  Pains  to  tell  the  news 
which  you  had  already  brought.  Chanco  the  Chris 
tian  had  betrayed  the  plot  to  him,  and  he  managed  to 
give  warning  at  Powel's  and  one  or  two  other  places 
as  he  came  up  the  river." 

He  broke  off,  but  when  I  would  have  spoken  inter 
rupted  me  with  :  "  And  so  you  were  on  the  Pamunkey 
all  this  while  !  Then  the  Paspaheghs  fooled  us  with 
the  simple  truth,  for  they  swore  so  stoutly  that  their 
absent  chief  men  were  but  gone  on  a  hunt  toward  the 
Pamunkey  that  we  had  no  choice  but  to  believe  them 
gone  in  quite  another  direction.  And  one  and  all  of 
every  tribe  we  questioned  swore  that  Opechancanough 
was  at  Orapax.  So  Master  Eolfe  puts  off  up  river  to 
find,  if  not  you,  then  the  Emperor,  and  make  him 
give  up  your  murderers  ;  and  the  Governor  sends  a 
party  along  the  bay,  and  West  another  up  the  Chick- 
ahominy.  And  there  you  were,  all  the  time,  mewed 
up  in  the  village  above  the  marshes  !  And  Nantau- 
quas,  after  saving  our  lives  like  one  of  us,  is  turned 
Indian  again  !  And  your  man  is  killed  !.  Alackaday  ! 
there 's  naught  but  trouble  in  the  world.  '  As  the 
sparks  fly  upwards,'  you  know.  But  a  brave  man 
draws  his  breath  and  sets  his  teeth." 

In  his  manner,  his  rapid  talk,  his  uneasy  glances 
toward  the  door,  I  found  something  forced  and  strange. 
"  I  thought  Rolfe  was  behind  me,"  he  said,  "  but  he 
must  have  been  delayed.  There  are  meat  and  drink 
set  out  in  the  great  room,  where  the  Governor  and 
those  of  the  Council  who  are  safe  here  with  us  are 


IN  WHICH  I  HEAR  ILL  NEWS  361 

advising  together.  Let 's  descend  ;  you  've  not  eaten, 
and  the  good  sack  will  give  you  strength.  Wilt 
come  ?  " 

"  Ay,"  I  answered,  "  but  tell  me  the  news  as  we  go. 
I  have  been  gone  ten  days,  —  faith,  it  seems  ten  years ! 
There  have  no  ships  sailed,  Master  Pory  ?  The  George 
is  still  here  ?  "  I  looked  him  full  in  the  eye,  for  a 
sudden  guess  at  a  possible  reason  for  his  confusion 
had  stabbed  me  like  a  knife. 

"  Ay,"  he  said,  with  a  readiness  that  could  scarce 
be  feigned.  "  She  was  to  have  sailed  this  week,  it  is 
true,  the  Governor  fearing  to  keep  her  longer.  But 
the  Esperance,  coming  in  yesterday,  brought  news 
which  removed  his  Honor's  scruples.  Now  she  '11  wait 
to  see  out  this  hand  at  the  cards,  and  to  take  home 
the  names  of  those  who  are  left  alive  in  Virginia. 
If  the  red  varlets  do  swarm  in  upon  us,  there  are 
her  twelve-pounders  ;  they  and  the  fort  guns  "  — 

I  let  him  talk  on.  The  George  had  not  sailed.  I 
saw  again  a  firelit  hut,  and  a  man  and  a  panther  who 
went  down  together.  Those  claws  had  dug  deep  ;  the 
man  across  whose  face  they  had  torn  their  way  would 
keep  his  room  in  the  guest  house  at  Jamestown  until 
his  wounds  were  somewhat  healed.  The  George  would 
wait  for  him,  would  scarcely  dare  to  sail  without  him, 
and  I  should  find  the  lady  whom  she  was  to  carry 
away  to  England  in  Virginia  still.  It  was  this  that  I 
had  built  upon,  the  grain  of  comfort,  the  passionate 
hope,  the  sustaining  cordial,  of  those  year-long  days 
in  the  village  above  the  Pamunkey. 

My  heart  was  sore  because  of  Diccon  ;  but  I  could 
speak  of  that  grief  to  her,  and  she  would  grieve  with 
me.  There  were  awe  and  dread  and  stern  sorrow  in 
the  knowledge  that  even  now  in  the  bright  spring 


362  TO  HAVE   AND  TO  HOLD 

morning  blood  from  a  hundred  homes  might  be  flow 
ing  to  meet  the  shining,  careless  river  ;  but  it  was  the 
springtime,  and  she  was  waiting  for  me.  I  strode  on 
toward  the  stairway  so  fast  that  when  I  asked  a  ques 
tion  Master  Pory,  at  my  side,  was  too  out  of  breath 
to  answer  it.  Halfway  down  the  stairs  I  asked  it 
again,  and  again  received  no  answer  save  a  "  Zooks  ! 
you  go  too  fast  for  my  years  and  having  in  flesh ! 
Go  more  slowly,  Ralph  Percy ;  there 's  time  enough, 
there  's  time  enough  !  " 

There  was  a  tone  in  his  voice  that  I  liked  not,  for 
it  savored  of  pity.  I  looked  at  him  with  knitted 
brows  ;  but  we  were  now  in  the  hall,  and  through 
the  open  door  of  the  great  room  I  caught  a  glimpse 
of  a  woman's  skirt.  There  were  men  in  the  hall,  ser 
vants  and  messengers,  who  made  way  for  us,  staring 
at  me  as  they  did  so,  and  whispering.  I  knew  that 
my  clothing  was  torn  and  muddied  and  stained  with 
blood ;  as  we  paused  at  the  door  there  came  to  me 
in  a  flash  that  day  in  the  courting  meadow  when  I 
had  tried  with  my  dagger  to  scrape  the  dried  mud 
from  my  boots.  I  laughed  at  myself  for  caring  now, 
and  for  thinking  that  she  would  care  that  I  was  not 
dressed  for  a  lady's  bower.  The  next  moment  we 
were  in  the  great  room. 

She  was  not  there.  The  silken  skirt  that  I  had 
seen,  and  —  there  being  but  one  woman  in  all  the 
world  for  me  —  had  taken  for  hers,  belonged  to  Lady 
Wyatt,  who,  pale  and  terrified,  was  sitting  with 
clasped  hands,  mutely  following  with  her  eyes  her 
husband  as  he  walked  to  and  fro.  West  had  come  in 
from  the  street  and  was  making  some  report.  Around 
the  table  were  gathered  two  or  three  of  the  Council ; 
Master  Sandys  stood  at  a  window,  Rolfe  beside  Lady 


IN  WHICH  I  HEAR  ILL  NEWS  363 

Wyatt's  chair.  The  room  was  filled  with  sunshine, 
and  a  caged  bird  was  singing,  singing.  It  made  the 
only  sound  there  when  they  saw  that  I  stood  amongst 
them. 

When  I  had  made  my  bow  to  Lady  Wyatt  and  to 
the  Governor,  and  had  clasped  hands  with  Rolfe,  I 
began  to  find  in  the  silence,  as  I  had  found  in  Mas 
ter  Pory's  loquaciousness,  something  strange.  They 
looked  at  me  uneasily,  and  I  caught  a  swift  glance 
from  the  Treasurer  to  Master  Pory,  and  an  answering 
shake  of  the  latter's  head.  Rolfe  was  very  white  and 
his  lips  were  set ;  West  was  pulling  at  his  mustaches 
and  staring  at  the  floor. 

"  With  all  our  hearts  we  welcome  you  back  to  life 
and  to  the  service  of  Virginia,  Captain  Percy,"  said 
the  Governor,  when  the  silence  had  become  awkward. 

A  murmur  of  assent  went  round  the  room. 

I  bowed.  "  I  thank  you,  sir,  and  these  gentlemen 
very  heartily.  You  have  but  to  command  me  now. 
I  find  that  I  have  to-day  the  best  will  in  the  world 
toward  fighting.  I  trust  that  your  Honor  does  not 
deem  it  necessary  to  send  me  back  to  gaol?  " 

"  Virginia  has  no  gaol  for  Captain  Percy,"  he  an 
swered  gravely.  "  She  has  only  grateful  thanks  and 
fullest  sympathy." 

I  glanced  at  him  keenly.  "  Then  I  hold  myself  at 
your  command,  sir,  when  I  shall  have  seen  and  spoken 
with  my  wife." 

He  looked  at  the  floor,  and  they  one  and  all  held 
their  peace. 

"  Madam,"  I  said  to  Lady  Wyatt,  "  I  have  been 
watching  your  ladyship's  face.  Will  you  tell  me  why 
it  is  so  very  full  of  pity,  and  why  there  are  tears  in 
your  eyes  ?  " 


364  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

She  shrank  back  in  her  chair  with  a  little  cry,  and 
Rolfe  stepped  toward  me,  then  turned  sharply  aside. 
"  I  cannot !  "  he  cried,  "  I  that  know  "  — 

I  drew  myself  up  to  meet  the  blow,  whatever  it 
might  be.  "  I  demand  of  you  my  wife,  Sir  Francis 
Wyatt,"  I  said.  "  If  there  is  ill  news  to  be  told,  be  so 
good  as  to  tell  it  quickly.  If  she  is  sick,  or  hath  been 
sent  away  to  England  "  — 

The  Governor  made  as  if  to  speak,  then  turned  and 
flung  out  his  hands  to  his  wife.  "  'T  is  woman's  work, 
Margaret !  "  he  cried.  "  Tell  him  !  " 

More  merciful  than  the  men,  she  came  to  me  at 
once,  the  tears  running  down  her  cheeks,  and  laid  one 
trembling  hand  upon  my  arm.  "  She  was  a  brave 
lady,  Captain  Percy,"  she  said.  "  Bear  it  as  she  would 
have  had  you  bear  it." 

"  I  am  bearing  it,  madam,"  I  answered  at  length. 
"  '  She  was  a  brave  lady.*  May  it  please  your  lady 
ship  to  go  on  ?  " 

"  I  will  tell  you  all,  Captain  Percy ;  I  will  tell  you 
everything.  .  .  .  She  never  believed  you  dead,  and  she 
begged  upon  her  knees  that  we  would  allow  her  to  go 
in  search  of  you  with  Master  Rolfe.  That  could  not 
be ;  my  husband,  in  duty  to  the  Company,  could  not 
let  her  have  her  will.  Master  Rolfe  went,  and  she  sat 
in  the  window,  yonder,  day  after  day,  watching  for  his 
return.  When  other  parties  went  out,  she  besought 
the  men,  as  they  had  wives  whom  they  loved,  to  search 
as  though  those  loved  ones  were  in  captivity  and  dan 
ger  ;  when  they  grew  weary  and  fainthearted,  to  think 
of  her  face  waiting  in  the  window.  .  .  .  Day  after 
day  she  sat  there  watching  for  them  to  come  back; 
when  they  were  come,  then  she  watched  the  river  for 
Master  Rolfe's  boats.  Then  came  word  down  the  river 


IN  WHICH  I  HEAR  ILL  NEWS  365 

that  he  had  found  no  trace  of  you  whom  he  sought, 
that  he  was  on  his  way  back  to  Jamestown,  that  he  too 
believed  you  dead.  .  .  .  We  put  a  watch  upon  her 
after  that,  for  we  feared  we  knew  not  what,  there  was 
such  a  light  and  purpose  in  her  eyes.  But  two  nights 
ago,  in  the  middle  of  the  night,  the  woman  who  stayed 
in  her  chamber  fell  asleep.  When  she  awoke  before 
the  dawn,  it  was  to  find  her  gone." 

"  To  find  her  gone?  "  I  said  dully.  "  To  find  her 
dead?" 

She  locked  her  hands  together  and  the  tears  came 
faster.  "  Oh,  Captain  Percy,  it  had  been  better  so ! 
—  it  had  been  better  so  !  Then  would  she  have  lain 
to  greet  you,  calm  and  white,  unmarred  and  beautiful, 
with  the  spring  flowers  upon  her.  .  .  .  She  believed 
not  that  you  were  dead  ;  she  was  distraught  with  grief 
and  watching ;  she  thought  that  love  might  find  what 
friendship  missed  ;  she  went  to  the  forest  to  seek  you. 
They  that  were  sent  to  find  and  bring  her  back  have 
never  returned  "  — 

"  Into  the  forest !  "  I  cried.  "  Jocelyn,  Jocelyn, 
Jocelyn,  come  back  !  " 

Some  one  pushed  me  into  a  chair,  and  I  felt  the 
warmth  of  wine  within  my  lips.  In  the  moment  that 
the  world  steadied  I  rose  and  went  toward  the  door 
to  find  my  way  barred  by  Rolfe. 

"  Not  you,  too,  Ralph  !  "  he  cried.  "  I  will  not  let 
you  go.  Look  for  yourself  !  " 

He  drew  me  to  the  window,  Master  Sandys  gravely 
making  place  for  us.  From  the  window  was  visible 
the  neck  of  land  and  the  forest  beyond,  and  from  the 
forest,  up  and  down  the  river  as  far  as  the  eye  could 
reach,  rose  here  and  there  thin  columns  of  smoke. 
Suddenly,  as  we  stared,  three  or  four  white  smoke  puffs, 


366  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

like  giant  flowers,  started  out  of  the  shadowy  woods 
across  the  neck.  Following  the  crack  of  the  muskets 
—  fired  out  of  pure  bravado  by  their  Indian  owners  — 
came  the  yelling  of  the  savages.  The  sound  was  pro 
longed  and  deep,  as  though  issuing  from  many  throats. 

I  looked  and  listened,  and  knew  that  I  could  not 
go,  —  not  now. 

"  She  was  not  alone,  Ralph,"  said  Rolfe,  with  his 
arm  about  me.  "  On  the  morning  that  she  was  missed, 
they  found  not  Jeremy  Sparrow  either.  They  tracked 
them  both  to  the  forest  by  the  footprints  upon  the 
sand,  though  once  in  the  wood  the  trail  was  lost.  The 
minister  must  have  been  watching,  must  have  seen  her 
leave  the  house,  and  must  have  followed  her.  How 
she,  and  he  after  her,  passed  through  the  gates,  none 
know.  So  careless  and  confident  had  we  grown  — 
God  forgive  us !  —  that  they  may  have  been  left  open 
all  that  night.  But  he  was  with  her,  Ralph ;  she  had 
not  to  face  it  alone  "  —  His  voice  broke. 

For  myself,  I  was  glad  that  the  minister  had  been 
there,  though  I  knew  that  for  him  also  I  should  grieve 
after  a  while. 

At  the  firing  and  the  shouting  West  had  rushed 
from  the  room,  followed  by  his  fellow  Councilors,  and 
now  the  Governor  clapped  on  his  headpiece  and  called 
to  his  men  to  bring  his  back-and-breast.  His  wife 
hung  around  his  neck,  and  he  bade  her  good-by  with 
great  tenderness.  I  looked  dully  on  at  that  parting. 
I  too  was  going  to  battle.  Once  I  had  tasted  such  a 
farewell,  the  pain,  the  passion,  the  sweetness,  but  never 
again,  — never  again. 

He  went,  and  the  Treasurer,  after  a  few  words  of 
comfort  to  Lady  Wyatt,  was  gone  also.  Both  were 
merciful,  and  spoke  not  to  me,  but  only  bowed  and 


IN  WHICH   I  HEAR  ILL  NEWS  367 

turned  aside,  requiring  no  answering  word  or  motion 
of  mine.  When  they  were  away,  and  there  was  no 
sound  in  the  room  save  the  caged  bird's  singing  and 
Lady  Wyatt's  low  sobs,  I  begged  Rolfe  to  leave  me, 
telling  him  that  he  was  needed,  as  indeed  he  was,  and 
that  I  would  stay  in  the  window  for  a  while,  and  then 
would  join  him  at  the  palisade.  He  was  loath  to  go  ; 
but  he  too  had  loved  and  lost,  and  knew  that  there  is 
nothing  to  be  said,  and  that  it  is  best  to  be  alone.  He 
went,  and  only  Lady  Wyatt  and  I  kept  the  quiet  room 
with  the  singing  bird  and  the  sunshine  on  the  floor. 

I  leaned  against  the  window  and  looked  out  into  the 
street,  —  which  was  not  crowded  now,  for  the  men 
were  all  at  their  several  posts,  —  and  at  the  budding 
trees,  and  at  the  smoke  of  many  fires  going  up  from 
the  forest  to  the  sky,  from  a  world  of  hate  and  pain 
and  woe  to  the  heaven  where  she  dwelt,  and  then  I 
turned  and  went  to  the  table,  where  had  been  set  bread 
and  meat  and  wine. 

At  the  sound  of  my  footstep  Lady  Wyatt  uncovered 
her  face.  "  Is  there  aught  that  I  can  do  for  you, 
sir  ?  "  she  asked  timidly. 

"  I  have  not  broken  my  fast  for  many  hours, 
madam,"  I  answered.  "  I  would  eat  and  drink,  that 
I  may  not  be  found  wanting  in  strength.  There  is  a 
thing  that  I  have  yet  to  do." 

Rising  from  her  chair,  she  brushed  away  her  tears, 
and  coming  to  the  table  with  a  little  housewifely  eager 
ness  would  not  let  me  wait  upon  myself,  but  carved 
and  poured  for  me,  and  then  sat  down  opposite  me  and 
covered  her  eyes  with  her  hand. 

"  I  think  that  the  Governor  is  quite  safe,  madam," 
I  said.  "  I  do  not  believe  that  the  Indians  will  take 
the  palisade.  It  may  even  be  that,  knowing  we  are 


368  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

prepared,  they  will  not  attack  at  all.  Indeed,  I  think 
that  you  may  be  easy  about  him." 

She  thanked  me  with  a  smile.  "  It  is  all  so  strange 
and  dreadful  to  me,  sir,"  she  said.  "  At  my  home,  in 
England,  it  was  like  a  Sunday  morning  all  the  year 
round,  —  all  stillness  and  peace  ;  no  terror,  no  alarm. 
I  fear  that  I  am  not  yet  a  good  Virginian." 

When  I  had  eaten,  and  had  drunk  the  wine  she 
gave  me,  I  rose,  and  asked  her  if  I  might  not  see  her 
safe  within  the  fort  before  I  joined  her  husband  at  the 
palisade.  She  shook  her  head,  and  told  me  that  there 
were  with  her  faithful  servants,  and  that  if  the  savages 
broke  in  upon  the  town  she  would  have  warning  in 
time  to  flee,  the  fort  being  so  close  at  hand.  When  I 
thereupon  begged  her  leave  to  depart,  she  first  curtsied 
to  me,  and  then,  again  with  tears,  came  to  me  and 
took  my  hand  in  hers.  "  I  know  that  there  is  naught 
that  I  can  say.  .  .  .  Your  wife  loved  you,  sir,  with  all 
her  heart."  She  drew  something  from  the  bosom  of 
her  gown.  "  Would  you  like  this  ?  It  is  a  knot  of 
ribbon  that  she  wore.  They  found  it  caught  in  a  bush 
at  the  edge  of  the  forest." 

I  took  the  ribbon  from  her  and  put  it  to  my  lips, 
then  unknotted  it  and  tied  it  around  my  arm  ;  and 
then,  wearing  my  wife's  colors,  I  went  softty  out  into 
the  street,  and  turned  my  face  toward  the  guest  house 
and  the  man  whom  I  meant  to  kill. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII 
IN  WHICH   MY  LORD   AND   I   PART   COMPANY 

THE  door  of  the  guest  house  stood  wide,  and  within 
the  lower  room  were  neither  men  that  drank  nor  men 
that  gave  to  drink.  Host  and  drawers  and  chance 
guests  alike  had  left  pipe  and  tankard  for  sword  and 
musket,  and  were  gone  to  fort  or  palisade  or  river 
bank. 

I  crossed  the  empty  room  and  went  up  the  creaking 
stairway.  No  one  met  me  or  withstood  me ;  only 
a  pigeon  perched  upon  the  sill  of  a  sunny  window 
whirred  off  into  the  blue.  I  glanced  out  of  the  win 
dow  as  I  passed  it,  and  saw  the  silver  river  and  the 
George  and  the  Esperance,  with  the  gunners  at  the 
guns  watching  for  Indian  canoes,  and  saw  smoke  rising 
from  the  forest  on  the  southern  shore.  There  had 
been  three  houses  there,  —  John  West's  and  Minifie's 
and  Crashaw's.  I  wondered  if  mine  were  burning,  too, 
at  Weyanoke,  and  cared  not  if  't  was  so. 

The  door  of  the  upper  room  was  shut.  When  I 
raised  the  latch  and  pushed  against  it,  it  gave  at  the 
top  and  middle,  but  there  was  some  pressure  from 
within  at  the  bottom.  I  pushed  again,  more  strongly, 
and  the  door  slowly  opened,  moving  away  whatever 
thing  had  lain  before  it.  Another  moment,  and  I  was 
in  the  room,  and  had  closed  and  barred  the  door 
behind  me. 

The  weight  that  had  opposed  me  was  the  body  of 


370  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

the  Italian,  lying  face  downwards,  upon  the  floor.  1 
stooped  and  turned  it  over,  and  saw  that  the  venomous 
spirit  had  flown.  The  face  was  purple  and  distorted  ; 
the  lips  were  drawn  back  from  the  teeth  in  a  dreadful 
smile.  There  was  in  the  room  a  faint,  peculiar,  not 
unpleasant  odor.  It  did  not  seem  strange  to  me  to 
find  that  serpent,  which  had  coiled  in  my  path,  dead 
and  harmless  for  evermore.  Death  had  been  busy  of 
late ;  if  he  struck  down  the  flower,  why  should  he 
spare  the  thing  that  I  pushed  out  of  my  way  with  my 
foot? 

Ten  feet  from  the  door  stood  a  great  screen,  hiding 
from  view  all  that  might  be  beyond.  It  was  very  quiet 
in  the  room,  with  the  sunshine  coming  through  the 
window,  and  a  breeze  that  smelt  of  the  sea.  I  had  not 
cared  to  walk  lightly  or  to  close  the  door  softty,  and 
yet  no  voice  had  challenged  my  entrance.  For  a  min 
ute  I  feared  to  find  the  dead  physician  the  room's  only 
occupant ;  then  I  passed  the  screen  and  came  upon  my 
enemy. 

He  was  sitting  beside  a  table,  with  his  arms  out 
stretched  and  his  head  bowed  upon  them.  My  foot 
fall  did  not  rouse  him ;  he  sat  there  in  the  sunshine 
as  still  as  the  figure  that  lay  before  the  threshold.  I 
thought  with  a  dull  fury  that  maybe  he  was  dead 
already,  and  I  walked  hastily  and  heavily  across  the 
floor  to  the  table.  Pie  was  a  living  man,  for  with  the 
fingers  of  one  hand  he  was  slowly  striking  against  a 
sheet  of  paper  that  lay  beneath  them.  He  knew  not 
that  I  stood  above  him ;  he  was  listening  to  other  foot 
steps. 

The  paper  was  a  letter,  unfolded  and  written  over 
with  great  black  characters.  The  few  lines  above 
those  moving  fingers  stared  ine  in  the  face.  They  ran 


MY  LORD  AND  I  PART  COMPANY          371 

thus  :  "  I  told  you  that  you  had  as  well  cut  your  throat 
as  go  upon  that  mad  Virginia  voyage.  Now  all 's 
gone,  —  wealth,  honors,  favor.  Buckingham  is  the 
sun  in  heaven,  and  cold  are  the  shadows  in  which  we 
walk  who  hailed  another  luminary.  There  's  a  war 
rant  out  for  the  Black  Death ;  look  to  it  that  one 
meets  not  you  too,  when  you  come  at  last.  But  come, 
in  the  name  of  all  the  fiends,  and  play  your  last  card. 
There 's  your  cursed  beauty  still.  Come,  and  let  the 
King  behold  your  face  once  more  "  —  The  rest  was 
hidden. 

I  put  out  my  hand  and  touched  him  upon  the  shoul 
der,  and  he  raised  his  head  and  stared  at  me  as  at  one 
come  from  the  grave. 

Over  one  side  of  his  face,  from  temple  to  chin, 
was  drawn  and  fastened  a  black  cloth  ;  the  unharmed 
cheek  was  bloodless  and  shrunken,  the  lip  twisted. 
Only  the  eyes,  dark,  sinister,  and  splendid,  were  as 
they  had  been.  "  I  dig  not  my  graves  deep  enough," 
he  said.  "  Is  she  behind  you  there  in  the  shadow  ?  " 

Flung  across  a  chair  was  a  cloak  of  scarlet  cloth. 
I  took  it  and  spread  it  out  upon  the  floor,  then  un 
sheathed  a  dagger  which  I  had  taken  from  the  rack  of 
weapons  in  the  Governor's  hall.  "  Loosen  thy  poniard, 
thou  murderer,"  I  cried,  "and  come  stand  with  me 
upon  the  cloak." 

"  Art  quick  or  dead  ?  "  he  answered.  "  I  will  not 
fight  the  dead."  He  had  not  moved  in  his  seat,  and 
there  was  a  lethargy  and  a  dullness  in  his  voice  and 
eyes.  "  There  is  time  enough,"  he  said.  "  I  too  will 
soon  be  of  thy  world,  thou  haggard,  bloody  shape. 
Wait  until  I  come,  and  I  will  fight  thee,  shadow  to 
shadow." 

"  I  am  not  dead,"  I  said,  "  but  there  is  one  that  is. 


372  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

Stand  up,  villain  and  murderer,  or  I  will  kill  you  sitting 
there,  with  her  blood  upon  your  hands !  " 

He  rose  at  that,  and  drew  his  dagger  from  the 
sheath.  I  laid  aside  my  doublet,  and  he  followed  my 
example,  but  his  hands  moved  listlessly  and  his  fingers 
bungled  at  the  fastenings.  I  waited  for  him  in  some 
wonder,  it  not  being  like  him  to  come  tardily  to  such 
pastime. 

He  came  at  length,  slowly  and  with  an  uncertain 
step,  and  we  stood  together  on  the  scarlet  cloak.  I 
raised  my  left  arm  and  he  raised  his,  and  we  locked 
hands.  There  was  no  strength  in  his  clasp ;  his  hand 
lay  within  mine  cold  and  languid.  "  Art  ready?"  I 
demanded. 

"Yea,"  he  answered  in  a  strange  voice,  "but  I 
would  that  she  did  not  stand  there  with  her  head  upon 
your  breast.  ...  I  too  loved  thee,  Jocelyn,  —  Jocelyn 
lying  dead  in  the  forest !  " 

I  struck  at  him  with  the  dagger  in  my  right  hand, 
and  wounded  him,  but  not  deeply,  in  the  side.  He 
gave  blow  for  blow,  but  his  poniard  scarce  drew  blood, 
so  nerveless  was  the  arm  that  would  have  driven  it 
home.  I  struck  again,  and  he  stabbed  weakly  at  the 
air,  then  let  his  arm  drop  to  his  side,  as  though  the 
light  and  jeweled  blade  had  weighed  it  down. 

Loosening  the  clasp  of  our  left  hands,  I  fell  back 
until  the  narrow  scarlet  field  was  between  us.  "  Hast 
no  more  strength  than  that?"  I  cried.  "I  cannot 
murder  you !  " 

He  stood  looking  past  me  as  into  a  great  distance. 
He  was  bleeding,  but  I  had  as  yet  been  able  to  strike 
no  mortal  blow.  "  It  is  as  you  choose,"  he  said.  "  I 
am  as  one  bound  before  you.  I  am  sick  unto  death." 

Turning,  he  went  back,  swaying  as  he  walked,  to 


MY  LORD   AND  I  PAK'T   COMPANY  373 

his  chair,  and  sinking  into  it  sat  there  a  minute  with 
half-closed  eyes  ;  then  raised  his  head  and  looked  at 
me,  with  a  shadow  of  the  old  arrogance,  pride,  and 
disdain  upon  his  scarred  face.  "  Not  yet,  captain  ?  " 
he  demanded.  "  To  the  heart,  man !  So  I  would 
strike  an  you  sat  here  and  I  stood  there." 

"  I  know  you  would,"  I  said,  and  going  to  the  win 
dow  I  flung  the  dagger  down  into  the  empty  street ; 
then  stood  and  watched  the  smoke  across  the  river,  and 
thought  it  strange  that  the  sun  shone  and  the  birds 
sang. 

When  I  turned  to  the  room  again,  he  still  sat  there 
in  the  great  chair,  a  tragic,  splendid  figure,  with  his 
ruined  face  and  the  sullen  woe  of  his  eyes.  "  I  had 
sworn  to  kill  you,"  I  said.  "  It  is  not  just  that  you 
should  live." 

He  gazed  at  me  with  something  like  a  smile  upon 
his  bloodless  lips.  "  Fret  not  thyself,  Kalph  Percy," 
he  said.  "  Within  a  week  I  shall  be  gone.  Did  you 
see  my  servant,  my  Italian  doctor,  lying  dead  upon  the 
floor,  there  beyond  the  screen  ?  He  had  poisons,  had 
Nicolo  whom  men  called  the  Black  Death,  —  poisons 
swift  and  strong,  or  subtle  and  slow.  Day  and  night, 
the  earth  and  sunshine  have  become  hateful  to  me.  I 
will  go  to  the  fires  of  hell,  and  see  if  they  can  make 
me  forget,  —  can  make  me  forget  the  face  of  a  woman." 
He  was  speaking  half  to  me,  half  to  himself.  "  Her 
eyes  are  dark  and  large,"  he  said,  "  and  there  are 
shadows  beneath  them,  and  the  mark  of  tears.  She 
stands  there  day  and  night  with  her  eyes  upon  me. 
Her  lips  are  parted,  but  she  never  speaks.  There  was 
a  way  that  she  had  with  her  hands,  holding  them  one 
within  the  other,  thus  "  — 

I  stopped  him  with  a  cry  for  silence,  and  I  leaned 


374  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

trembling  against  the  table.     "  Thou  wretch !  "  I  cried. 
"  Thou  art  her  murderer !  " 

He  raised  his  head  and  looked  beyond  me  with  that 
strange,  faint  smile.  "  I  know,"  he  replied,  with  the 
dignity  which  was  his  at  times.  "  You  may  play  the 
headsman,  if  you  choose.  I  dispute  not  your  right. 
But  it  is  scarce  worth  while.  I  have  taken  poison." 

The  sunshine  came  into  the  room,  and  the  wind 
from  the  river,  and  the  trumpet  notes  of  swans  flying 
to  the  north.  "  The  George  is  ready  for  sailing,"  he 
said  at  last.  "  To-morrow  or  the  next  day  she  will  be 
going  home  with  the  tidings  of  this  massacre.  I  shall 
go  with  her,  and  within  a  week  they  will  bury  me  at 
sea.  There  is  a  stealthy,  slow,  and  secret  poison.  .  .  . 
I  would  not  die  in  a  land  where  I  have  lost  every 
throw  of  the  dice,  and  I  would  not  die  in  England  for 
Buckingham  to  come  and  look  upon  my  face,  and  so  I 
took  that  poison.  For  the  man  upon  the  floor,  there, 
—  prison  and  death  awaited  him  at  home.  He  chose 
to  flee  at  once." 

He  ceased  to  speak,  and  sat  with  his  head  bowed 
upon  his  breast.  "  If  you  are  content  that  it  should 
be  as  it  is,"  he  said  at  length,  "  perhaps  you  will  leave 
me?  I  am  not  good  company  to-day." 

His  hand  was  busy  again  with  the  letter  upon  the 
table,  and  his  gaze  was  fixed  beyond  me.  "  I  have 
lost,"  he  muttered.  "  How  I  came  to  play  my  cards 
so  badly  I  do  not  know.  The  stake  was  heavy,  —  I 
have  not  wherewithal  to  play  again." 

His  head  sank  upon  his  outstretched  arm.  As  for 
me,  I  stood  a  minute  with  set  lips  and  clenched  hands, 
and  then  I  turned  and  went  out  of  the  room  and  down 
the  stair  and  out  into  the  street.  In  the  dust  beneath 
the  window  lay  my  dagger.  I  picked  it  up,  sheathed 
it,  and  went  my  way. 


'THOU  ART  HER  MURDERER 


MY  LORD   AND   I   PART  COMPANY  375 

The  street  was  very  quiet.  All  windows  and  doors 
were  closed  and  barred  ;  not  a  soul  was  there  to  trouble 
me  with  look  or  speech.  The  yelling  from  the  forest 
had  ceased ;  only  the  keen  wind  blew,  and  brought 
from  the  Esperance  upon  the  river  a  sound  of  singing. 
The  sea  was  the  home  of  the  men  upon  her  decks,  and 
their  hearts  dwelt  not  in  this  port ;  they  could  sing 
while  the  smoke  went  up  from  our  homes  and  the  dead 
lay  across  the  thresholds. 

I  went  on  through  the  sunshine  and  the  stillness  to 
the  minister's  house.  The  trees  in  the  garden  were 
bare,  the  flowers  dead.  The  door  was  not  barred.  I 
entered  the  house  and  went  into  the  great  room  and 
flung  the  heavy  shutters  wide,  then  stood  and  looked 
about  me.  Naught  was  changed ;  it  was  as  we  had 
left  it  that  wild  November  night.  Even  the  mirror 
which,  one  other  night,  had  shown  me  Diccon  still 
hung  upon  the  wall.  Master  Bucke  had  been  seldom 
at  home,  perhaps,  or  was  feeble  and  careless  of  altering 
matters.  All  was  as  though  we  had  been  but  an  hour 
gone,  save  that  no  fire  burned  upon  the  hearth. 

I  went  to  the  table,  and  the  books  upon  it  were  Jer 
emy  Sparrow's :  the  minister's  house,  then,  had  been 
his  home  once  more.  Beside  the  books  lay  a  packet, 
tied  with  silk,  sealed,  and  addressed  to  me.  Perhaps 
the  Governor  had  given  it,  the  day  before,  into  Mas 
ter  Bucke's  care,  —  I  do  not  know ;  at  any  rate,  there 
it  lay.  I  looked  at  the  "  By  the  Esperance "  upon 
the  cover,  and  wondered  dully  who  at  home  would 
care  to  write  to  me ;  then  broke  the  seal  and  untied 
the  silk.  Within  the  cover  there  was  a  letter  with 
the  superscription,  "  To  a  Gentleman  who  has  served 
me  well." 

I  read  the  letter  through  to  the  signature,  which 


376  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

was  that  of  his  Grace  of  Buckingham,  and  then  I 
laughed,  who  had  never  thought  to  laugh  again,  and 
threw  the  paper  down.  It  mattered  naught  to  me  now 
that  George  Villiers  should  be  grateful,  or  that  James 
Stewart  could  deny  a  favorite  nothing.  "  The  King 
graciously  sanctions  the  marriage  of  his  sometime 
ward,  the  Lady  Jocelyn  Leigh,  with  Captain  Ralph 
Percy  ;  invites  them  home  "  — 

She  was  gone  home,  and  I  her  husband,  I  who 
loved  her,  was  left  behind.  How  many  years  of  pil 
grimage  .  .  .  how  long,  how  long,  O  Lord  ? 

The  minister's  great  armchair  was  drawn  before 
the  cold  and  blackened  hearth.  How  often  she  had 
sat  there  within  its  dark  clasp,  the  firelight  on  her 
dress,  her  hands,  her  face  !  She  had  been  fair  to  look 
upon  ;  the  pride,  the  daring,  the  willfulness,  were  but 
the  thorns  about  the  rose  ;  behind  those  defenses  was 
the  flower,  pure  and  lovely,  with  a  heart  of  gold.  I 
flung  myself  down  beside  the  chair,  and,  putting  my 
arms  across  it,  hid  my  face  upon  them,  and  could 
weep  at  last. 

That  passion  spent  itself,  and  I  lay  with  my  face 
against  the  wood  and  well-nigh  slept.  The  battle  was 
done  ;  the  field  was  lost ;  the  storm  and  stress  of  life 
had  sunk  into  this  dull  calm,  as  still  as  peace,  as 
hopeless  as  the  charred  log  and  white  ash  upon  the 
hearth,  cold,  never  to  be  quickened  again. 

Time  passed,  and  at  length  I  raised  my  head, 
roused  suddenly  to  the  consciousness  that  for  a  while 
there  had  been  no  stillness.  The  air  was  full  of  sound, 
shouts,  savage  cries,  the  beating  of  a  drum,  the  noise 
of  musketry.  I  sprang  to  my  feet,  and  went  to  the 
door  to  meet  Rolfe  crossing  the  threshold. 

He  put  his  arm  within  mine  and  drew  me  out  into 


MY  LORD   AND  I  PART  COMPANY  377 

the  sunshine  upon  the  doorstep.  "  I  thought  I  should 
find  you  here,"  he  said  ;  "  but  it  is  only  a  room  with 
its  memories,  Ralph.  Out  here  is  more  breadth,  more 
height.  There  is  country  yet,  Ralph,  and  after  a 
while,  friends.  The  Indians  are  beginning  to  attack 
in  force.  Humphry  Boyse  is  killed,  and  Morris 
Chaloner.  There  is  smoke  over  the  plantations  up 
and  down  the  river,  as  far  as  we  can  see,  and  awhile 
ago  the  body  of  a  child  drifted  down  to  us." 

"  I  am  unarmed,"  I  said.  "  I  will  but  run  to  the 
fort  for  sword  and  musket " 

44  No  need,"  he  answered.  "  There  are  the  dead 
whom  you  may  rob."  The  noise  increasing  as  he 
spoke,  we  made  no  further  tarrying,  but,  leaving 
behind  us  house  and  garden,  hurried  to  the  palisade. 


CHAPTER   XXXVin 
IN   WHICH   I   GO  UPON  A   QUEST 

THROUGH  a  loophole  in  the  gate  of  the  palisade  I 
looked,  and  saw  the  sandy  neck  joining  the  town  to 
the  main,  and  the  deep  and  dark  woods  beyond,  the 
fairy  mantle  giving  invisibility  to  a  host.  Between 
us  and  that  refuge  dead  men  lay  here  and  there,  stiff 
and  stark,  with  the  black  paint  upon  them,  and  the 
colored  feathers  of  their  headdresses  red  or  blue 
against  the  sand.  One  warrior,  shot  through  the 
back,  crawled  like  a  wounded  beetle  to  the  forest. 
We  let  him  go,  for  we  cared  not  to  waste  ammunition 
upon  him. 

I  drew  back  from  my  loophole,  and  held  out  my 
hand  to  the  women  for  a  freshly  loaded  musket.  A 
quick  murmur  like  the  drawing  of  a  breath  came  from 
our  line.  The  Governor,  standing  near  me,  cast  an 
anxious  glance  along  the  stretch  of  wooden  stakes 
that  were  neither  so  high  nor  so  thick  as  they  should 
have  been.  "I  am  new  to  this  warfare,  Captain 
Percy,"  he  said.  "  Do  they  think  to  use  those  logs 
that  they  carry  as  battering  rams  ?  " 

"  As  scaling  ladders,  your  Honor,"  I  replied.  "  It 
is  on  the  cards  that  we  may  have  some  sword  play, 
after  all." 

"  We  '11  take  your  advice,  the  next  time  we  build  a 
palisade,  Ralph  Percy,"  muttered  West  on  my  other 
side.  Mounting  the  breastwork  that  we  had  thrown 


IN  WHICH  I  GO   UPON  A  QUEST  379 

up  to  shelter  the  women  who  were  to  load  the  mus 
kets,  he  coolly  looked  over  the  pales  at  the  oncoming 
savages.  "Wait  until  they  pass  the  blasted  pine, 
men  ! "  he  cried.  "  Then  give  them  a  hail  of  lead 
that  will  beat  them  back  to  the  Pamunkey !  " 

An  arrow  whistled  by  his  ear  ;  a  second  struck  him 
on  the  shoulder,  but  pierced  not  his  coat  of  mail.  He 
came  down  from  his  dangerous  post  with  a  laugh. 

"  If  the  leader  could  be  picked  off  "—  I  said.  "  It 's 
a  long  shot,  but  there  's  no  harm  in  trying." 

As  I  spoke  I  raised  my  gun  to  my  shoulder ;  but 
he  leaned  across  Rolfe,  who  stood  between  us,  and 
plucked  me  by  the  sleeve.  "  You  've  not  looked  at 
him  closely.  Look  again." 

I  did  as  he  told  me,  and  lowered  my  musket.  It 
was  not  for  me  to  send  that  Indian  leader  to  his  ac 
count.  Rolfe's  lips  tightened  and  a  sudden  pallor 
overspread  his  face.  "  Nantauquas  ?  "  he  muttered  in 
my  ear,  and  I  nodded  yes. 

The  volley  that  we  fired  full  into  the  ranks  of  our 
foe  was  deadly,  and  we  looked  to  see  them  turn  and 
flee,  as  they  had  fled  before.  But  this  time  they  were 
led  by  one  who  had  been  trained  in  English  stead 
fastness.  Broken  for  the  moment,  they  rallied  and 
came  on  yelling,  bearing  logs,  thick  branches  of  trees, 
oars  tied  together,  —  anything  by  whose  help  they 
could  hope  to  surmount  the  palisade.  We  fired  again, 
but  they  had  planted  their  ladders.  Before  we  could 
snatch  the  loaded  muskets  from  the  women  a  dozen 
painted  figures  appeared  above  the  sharpened  stakes. 
A  moment,  and  they  and  a  score  behind  them  had 
leaped  down  upon  us. 

It  was  no  time  now  to  skulk  behind  a  palisade. 
At  all  hazards,  that  tide  from  the  forest  must  be 


380  TO  HAVE   AND  TO   HOLD 

stemmed.  Those  that  were  amongst  us  we  might  kill, 
but  more  were  swarming  after  them,  and  from  the 
neck  came  the  exultant  yelling  of  madly  hurrying 
reinforcements. 

We  flung  open  the  gates.  I  drove  my  sword 
through  the  heart  of  an  Indian  who  would  have  op 
posed  me,  and,  calling  for  men  to  follow  me,  sprang 
forward.  Perhaps  thirty  came  at  my  call ;  together 
we  made  for  the  opening.  A  party  of  the  savages  in 
our  midst  interposed.  We  set  upon  them  with  sword 
and  musket  butt,  and  though  they  fought  like  very 
devils  drove  them  before  us  through  the  gateway. 
Behind  us  were  wild  clamor,  the  shrieking  of  women, 
the  stern  shouts  of  the  English,  the  whooping  of  the 
savages ;  before  us  a  rush  that  must  be  met  and 
turned. 

It  was  done.  A  moment's  fierce  fighting,  then  the 
Indians  wavered,  broke,  and  fled.  Like  sheep  we 
drove  them  before  us,  across  the  neck,  to  the  edge  of 
the  forest,  into  which  they  plunged.  Into  that  am 
bush  we  cared  not  to  follow,  but  fell  back  to  the  pali 
sade  and  the  town,  believing,  and  with  reason,  that 
the  lesson  had  been  taught.  The  strip  of  sand  was 
strewn  with  the  dead  and  the  dying,  but  they  belonged 
not  to  us.  Our  dead  numbered  but  three,  and  we 
bore  their  bodies  with  us. 

Within  the  palisade  we  found  the  English  in  suffi 
ciently  good  case.  Of  the  score  or  more  Indians  cut 
off  by  us  from  their  mates  and  penned  within  that 
death  trap,  half  at  least  were  already  dead,  run 
through  with  sword  and  pike,  shot  down  with  the  rnus- 
kets  that  there  was  now  time  to  load.  The  remain 
der,  hemmed  about,  pressed  against  the  wall,  were 
fast  meeting  with  a  like  fate.  They  stood  no  chance 


IN  WHICH   I  GO   UPON  A  QUEST  381 

against  us  ;  we  cared  not  to  make  prisoners  of  them  ; 
it  was  a  slaughter,  but  they  had  taken  the  initiative. 
They  fought  with  the  courage  of  despair,  striving  to 
spring  in  upon  us,  striking  when  they  could  with 
hatchet  and  knife,  and  through  it  all  talking  and 
laughing,  making  God  knows  what  savage  boasts, 
what  taunts  against  the  English,  what  references  to 
the  hunting  grounds  to  which  they  were  going.  They 
were  brave  men  that  we  slew  that  day. 

At  last  there  was  left  but  the  leader,  —  unharmed, 
un wounded,  though  time  and  again  he  had  striven  to 
close  with  some  one  of  us,  to  strike  and  to  die  striking 
with  his  fellows.  Behind  him  was  the  wall :  of  the 
half  circle  which  he  faced  well-nigh  all  were  old  sol 
diers  and  servants  of  the  colony,  gentlemen  none  of 
whom  had  come  in  later  than  Dale,  —  Rolfe,  West, 
Wynne,  and  others.  We  were  swordsmen  all.  When 
in  his  desperation  he  would  have  thrown  himself 
upon  us,  we  contented  ourselves  with  keeping  him  at 
sword's  length,  and  at  last  West  sent  the  knife  in  the 
dark  hand  whirling  over  the  palisade.  Some  one  had 
shouted  to  the  musketeers  to  spare  him. 

When  he  saw  that  he  stood  alone,  he  stepped  back 
against  the  wall,  drew  himself  up  to  his  full  height, 
and  folded  his  arms.  Perhaps  he  thought  that  we 
would  shoot  him  down  then  and  there ;  perhaps  he 
saw  himself  a  captive  amongst  us,  a  show  for  the  idle 
and  for  the  strangers  that  the  ships  brought  in. 

The  din  had  ceased,  and  we  the  living,  the  victors, 
stood  and  looked  at  the  vanquished  dead  at  our  feet, 
and  at  the  dead  beyond  the  gates,  and  at  the  neck 
upon  which  was  no  living  foe,  and  at  the  blue  sky 
bending  over  all.  Our  hearts  told  us,  and  told  us 
truly,  that  the  lesson  had  been  taught,  that  no  more 


382  TO   HAVE   AND   TO   HOLD 

forever  need  we  at  Jamestown  fear  an  Indian  attack. 
And  then  we  looked  at  him  whose  life  we  had  spared. 

He  opposed  our  gaze  with  his  folded  arms  and  his 
head  held  high  and  his  back  against  the  wall.  Many 
of  us  could  remember  him,  a  proud,  shy  lad,  coming 
for  the  first  time  from  the  forest  with  his  sister  to  see 
the  English  village  and  its  wonders.  For  idleness  we 
had  set  him  in  our  midst  that  summer  day,  long  ago, 
on  the  green  by  the  fort,  and  had  called  him  "your 
royal  highness,"  laughing  at  the  quickness  of  our  wit, 
and  admiring  the  spirit  and  bearing  of  the  lad  and 
the  promise  he  gave  of  a  splendid  manhood.  And  all 
knew  the  tale  I  had  brought  the  night  before. 

Slowly,  as  one  man,  and  with  no  spoken  word,  we 
fell  back,  the  half  circle  straightening  into  a  line  and 
leaving  a  clear  pathway  to  the  open  gates.  The  wind 
had  ceased  to  blow,  I  remember,  and  a  sunny  still 
ness  lay  upon  the  sand,  and  the  rough-hewn  wooden 
stakes,  and  a  little  patch  of  tender  grass  across  which 
stretched  a  dead  man's  arm.  The  church  bells  began 
to  ring. 

The  Indian  out  of  whose  path  to  life  and  freedom  we 
had  stepped  glanced  from  the  line  of  lowered  steel  to 
the  open  gates  and  the  forest  beyond,  and  understood. 
For  a  full  minute  he  waited,  moving  not  a  muscle, 
still  and  stately  as  some  noble  masterpiece  in  bronze. 
Then  he  stepped  from  the  shadow  of  the  wall  and 
moved  past  us  through  the  sunshine  that  turned  the 
eagle  feather  in  his  scalp  lock  to  gold.  His  eyes  were 
fixed  upon  the  forest ;  there  was  no  change  in  the 
superb  calm  of  his  face.  He  went  by  the  huddled 
dead  and  the  long  line  of  the  living  that  spoke  no 
word,  and  out  of  the  gates  and  across  the  neck,  walk 
ing  slowly  that  we  might  yet  shoot  him  down  if  we 


IN  WHICH  I  GO   UPON  A  QUEST  383 

saw  fit  to  repent  ourselves,  and  proudly  like  a  king's 
son.  There  was  no  sound  save  the  church  bells  ring 
ing  for  our  deliverance.  He  reached  the  shadow  of 
the  trees :  a  moment,  and  the  forest  had  back  her 
own. 

We  sheathed  our  swords  and  listened  to  the  Gov 
ernor's  few  earnest  words  of  thankfulness  and  of  recog 
nition  of  this  or  that  man's  service,  and  then  we  set  to 
work  to  clear  the  ground  of  the  dead,  to  place  senti 
nels,  to  bring  the  town  into  order,  to  determine  what 
policy  we  should  pursue,  to  search  for  ways  by  which 
we  might  reacH  and  aid  those  who  might  be  yet  alive 
in  the  plantations  above  and  below  us. 

We  could  not  go  through  the  forest  where  every 
tree  might  hide  a  foe,  but  there  was  the  river.  For 
the  most  part,  the  houses  of  the  English  had  been 
built,  like  mine  at  Weyanoke,  very  near  to  the  water. 
I  volunteered  to  lead  a  party  up  river,  and  Wynne  to 
go  with  another  toward  the  bay.  But  as  the  council 
at  the  Governor's  was  breaking  up,  and  as  Wynne 
and  I  were  hurrying  off  to  make  our  choice  of  the 
craft  at  the  landing,  there  came  a  great  noise  from 
the  watchers  upon  the  bank,  and  a  cry  that  boats  were 
coming  down  the  stream. 

It  was  so,  and  there  were  in  them  white  men,  nearly 
all  of  whom  had  their  wounds  to  show,  and  cowering 
women  and  children.  One  boat  had  come  from  the 
plantation  at  Paspahegh,  and  two  from  Martin-Bran- 
don  ;  they  held  all  that  were  left  of  the  people.  .  .  . 
A  woman  had  in  her  lap  the  body  of  a  child,  and 
would  not  let  us  take  it  from  her ;  another,  with  a 
half-severed  arm,  crouched  above  a  man  who  lay  in 
his  blood  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat. 

Thus   began   that   strange    procession   that   lasted 


384  TO   HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

throughout  the  afternoon  and  night  and  into  the 
next  day,  when  a  sloop  came  down  from  Henricus 
with  the  news  that  the  English  were  in  force  there 
to  stand  their  ground,  although  their  loss  had  been 
heavy.  Hour  after  hour  they  came  as  fast  as  sail  and 
oar  could  bring  them,  the  panic-stricken  folk,  whose 
homes  were  burned,  whose  kindred  were  slain,  who 
had  themselves  escaped  as  by  a  miracle.  Many  were 
sorely  wounded,  so  that  they  died  when  we  lifted  them 
from  the  boats;  others  had  slighter  hurts.  Each 
boatload  had  the  same  tale  to  tell  of  treachery,  sur 
prise,  and  fiendish  butchery.  Wherever  it  had  been 
possible  the  English  had  made  a  desperate  defense,  in 
the  face  of  which  the  savages  gave  way  and  finally 
retired  to  the  forest.  Contrary  to  their  wont,  the 
Indians  took  few  prisoners,  but  for  the  most  part  slew 
outright  those  whom  they  seized,  wreaking  their  spite 
upon  the  senseless  corpses.  A  man  too  good  for  this 
world,  George  Thorpe,  who  would  think  no  evil,  was 
killed  and  his  body  mutilated  by  those  whom  he  had 
taught  and  loved.  And  Nathaniel  Powel  was  dead, 
and  four  others  of  the  Council,  besides  many  more  of 
name  and  note.  There  were  many  women  slain  and 
little  children. 

From  the  stronger  hundreds  came  tidings  of  the 
number  lost,  and  that  the  survivors  would  hold  the 
homes  that  were  left,  for  the  time  at  least.  The 
Indians  had  withdrawn  ;  it  remained  to  be  seen  if 
they  were  satisfied  with  the  havoc  they  had  wrought. 
Would  his  Honor  send  by  boat  —  there  could  be  no 
traveling  through  the  woods  —  news  of  how  others 
had  fared,  and  also  powder  and  shot'  ? 

Before  the  dawning  we  had  heard  from  all  save  the 
remoter  settlements.  The  blow  had  been  struck,  and 


IN  WHICH  I  GO   UPON  A  QUEST  385 

the  hurt  was  deep.  But  it  was  not  beyond  remedy, 
thank  God !  It  is  known  what  measures  we  took  for 
our  protection,  and  how  soon  the  wound  to  the  colony 
was  healed,  and  what  vengeance  we  meted  out  to  those 
who  had  set  upon  us  in  the  dark,  and  had  failed  to 
reach  the  heart.  These  things  belong  to  history,  and 
I  am  but  telling  my  own  story,  —  mine  and  another's. 

In  the  chill  and  darkness  of  the  hour  before  dawn 
something  like  quiet  fell  upon  the  distracted,  breath 
less  town.  There  was  a  pause  in  the  coming  of  the 
boats.  The  wounded  and  the  dying  had  been  cared 
for,  and  the  noise  of  the  women  and  the  children  was 
stilled  at  last.  All  was  well  at  the  palisade ;  the 
strong  party  encamped  upon  the  neck  reported  the 
forest  beyond  them  as  still  as  death. 

In  the  Governor's  house  was  held  a  short  council, 
subdued  and  quiet,  for  we  were  all  of  one  mind  and 
our  words  were  few.  It  was  decided  that  the  George 
should  sail  at  once  with  the  tidings,  and  with  an 
appeal  for  arms  and  powder  and  a  supply  of  men. 
The  Esperance  would  still  be  with  us,  besides  the 
Hope-in-God  and  the  Tiger ;  the  Margaret  and  John 
would  shortly  come  in,  being  already  overdue. 

"  My  Lord  Carnal  goes  upon  the  George,  gentle 
men,"  said  Master  Pory.  "  He  sent  but  now  to 
demand  if  she  sailed  to-morrow.  He  is  ill,  and  would 
be  at  home." 

One  or  two  glanced  at  me,  but  I  sat  with  a  face 
like  stone,  and  the  Governor,  rising,  broke  up  the 
council. 

I  left  the  house,  and  the  street  that  was  lit  with 
torches  and  noisy  with  going  to  and  fro,  and  went 
down  to  the  river.  Rolfe  had  been  detained  by  the 
Governor,  West  commanded  the  party  at  the  neck. 


386  TO   HAVE   AND   TO  HOLD 

There  were  great  fires  burning  along  the  river  bank, 
and  men  watching  for  the  incoming  boats ;  but  I 
knew  of  a  place  where  no  guard  was  set,  and  where 
one  or  two  canoes  were  moored.  There  was  no  fire 
light  there,  and  no  one  saw  me  when  I  entered  a  canoe 
and  cut  the  rope  and  pushed  off  from  the  land. 

Well-nigh  a  day  and  a  night  had  passed  since  Lady 
Wyatt  had  told  me  that  which  made  for  my  heart  a 
night-time  indeed.  I  believed  my  wife  to  be  dead,  — 
yea,  I  trusted  that  she  was  dead.  I  hoped  that  it  had 
been  quickly  over,  —  one  blow.  .  .  .  Better  that,  oh, 
better  that  a  thousand  times,  than  that  she  should 
have  been  carried  off  to  some  village,  saved  to-day  to 
die  a  thousand  deaths  to-morrow. 

But  I  thought  that  there  might  have  been  left, 
lying  on  the  dead  leaves  of  the  forest,  that  fair  shell 
from  which  the  soul  had  flown.  I  knew  not  where  to 
go,  —  to  the  north,  to  the  east,  to  the  west,  —  but  go 
I  must.  I  had  no  hope  of  finding  that  which  I  went 
to  seek,  and  no  thought  but  to  take  up  that  quest.  I 
was  a  soldier,  and  I  had  stood  to  my  post;  but  now 
the  need  was  past,  and  I  could  go.  In  the  hall  at  the 
Governor's  house,  I  had  written  a  line  of  farewell  to 
Rolfe,  and  had  given  the  paper  into  the  hand  of  a 
trusty  fellow,  charging  him  not  to  deliver  it  for  two 
hours  to  come. 

I  rowed  two  miles  downstream  through  the  quiet 
darkness,  —  so  quiet  after  the  hubbub  of  the  town. 
When  I  turned  my  boat  to  the  shore  the  day  was 
close  at  hand.  The  stars  were  gone,  and  a  pale,  cold 
light,  more  desolate  than  the  dark,  streamed  from  the 
east  across  which  ran,  like  a  faded  blood  stain,  a  smear 
of  faint  red.  Upon  the  forest  the  mist  lay  heavy. 
W'hen  I  drove  the  boat  in  amongst  the  sedge  and 


IN  WHICH  I  GO   UPON  A  QUEST  387 

reeds  below  the  bank,  I  could  see  only  the  trunks  of 
the  nearest  trees,  hear  only  the  sullen  cry  of  some 
river  bird  that  I  had  disturbed. 

Why  I  was  at  some  pains  to  fasten  the  boat  to  a 
sycamore  that  dipped  a  pallid  arm  into  the  stream  I 
do  not  know.  I  never  thought  to  come  back  to  the 
sycamore ;  I  never  thought  to  bend  to  an  oar  again, 
to  behold  again  the  river  that  the  trees  and  the  mist 
hid  from  me  before  I  had  gone  twenty  yards  into  the 
forest. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX 

IN  WHICH   WE   LISTEN   TO   A   SONG 

IT  was  like  a  May  morning,  so  mild  was  the  air,  so 
gay  the  sunshine,  when  the  mist  had  risen.  Wild 
flowers  were  blooming,  and  here  and  there  unfolding 
leaves  made  a  delicate  fretwork  against  a  deep  blue 
sky.  The  wind  did  not  blow  ;  everywhere  were  still 
ness  soft  and  sweet,  dewy  freshness,  careless  peace. 

Hour  after  hour  I  walked  slowly  through  the  wood 
land,  pausing  now  and  then  to  look  from  side  to  side. 
It  was  idle  going,  wandering  in  a  desert  with  no 
guiding  star.  The  place  where  I  would  be  might  lie 
to  the  east,  to  the  west.  In  the  wide  enshrouding 
forest  I  might  have  passed  it  by.  I  believed  not  that 
I  had  done  so.  Surely,  surely  I  should  have  known  ; 
surely  the  voice  that  lived  only  in  my  heart  would 
have  called  to  me  to  stay. 

Beside  a  newly  felled  tree,  in  a  glade  starred  with 
small  white  flowers,  I  came  upon  the  bodies  of  a  man 
and  a  boy,  so  hacked,  so  hewn,  so  robbed  of  all  come 
liness,  that  at  the  sight  the  heart  stood  still  and  the 
brain  grew  sick.  Farther  on  was  a  clearing,  and  in 
its  midst  the  charred  and  blackened  walls  of  what  had 
been  a  home.  I  crossed  the  freshly  turned  earth,  and 
looked  in  at  the  cabin  door  with  the  stillness  and  the 
sunshine.  A  woman  lay  dead  upon  the  floor,  her  out 
stretched  hand  clenched  upon  the  foot  of  a  cradle.  I 
entered  the  room,  and,  looking  within  the  cradle, 


IN   WHICH  WE   LISTEN  TO   A  SONG         389 

found  that  the  babe  had  not  been  spared.  Taking  up 
the  little  waxen  body  with  the  blood  upon  its  innocent 
breast,  I  laid  it  within  the  mother's  arms,  and  went 
my  way  over  the  sunny  doorstep  and  the  earth  that 
had  been  made  ready  for  planting.  A  white  butterfly 
—  the  first  of  the  year  —  fluttered  before  me  ;  then 
rose  through  a  mist  of  green  and  passed  from  my  sight. 

The  sun  climbed  higher  into  the  deep  blue  sky. 
Save  where  grew  pines  or  cedars  there  were  no  shad 
owy  places  in  the  forest.  The  slight  green  of  uncurl 
ing  leaves,  the  airy  scarlet  of  the  maples,  the  bare 
branches  of  the  tardier  trees,  opposed  no  barrier  to 
the  sunlight.  It  streamed  into  the  world  below  the 
treetops,  and  lay  warm  upon  the  dead  leaves  and  the 
green  moss  and  the  fragile  wild  flowers.  There  was 
a  noise  of  birds,  and  a  fox  barked.  All  was  lightness, 
gayety,  and  warmth ;  the  sap  was  running,  the  hey 
day  of  the  spring  at  hand.  Ah  !  to  be  riding  with  her, 
to  be  going  home  through  the  fairy  forest,  the  sunshine, 
and  the  singing  !  .  .  .  The  happy  miles  to  Weyanoke, 
the  smell  of  the  sassafras  in  its  woods,  the  house  all  lit 
and  trimmed.  The  fire  kindled,  the  wine  upon  the 
table  .  .  .  Diccon's  welcoming  face,  and  his  hand  upon 
Black  Lamoral's  bridle  ;  the  minister,  too,  maybe,  with 
his  great  heart  and  his  kindly  eyes  ;  her  hand  in  mine, 
her  head  upon  my  breast  — 

The  vision  faded.  Never,  never,  never  for  me  a 
home-coming  such  as  that,  so  deep,  so  dear,  so  sweet. 
The  men  who  were  my  friends,  the  woman  whom  I 
loved,  had  gone  into  a  far  country.  This  world  was 
not  their  home.  They  had  crossed  the  threshold  while 
I  lagged  behind.  The  door  was  shut,  and  without 
were  the  night  and  I. 

With  the  fading  of  the  vision  came  a  sudden  con- 


390  TO  HAVE  AND  TO   HOLD 

sciousness  of  a  presence  in  the  forest  other  than  my 
own.  I  turned  sharply,  and  saw  an  Indian  walking 
with  me,  step  for  step,  but  with  a  space  between  us  of 
earth  and  brown  tree  trunks  and  drooping  branches. 
For  a  moment  I  thought  that  he  was  a  shadow,  not 
substance  ;  then  I  stood  still,  waiting  for  him  to  speak 
or  to  draw  nearer.  At  the  first  glimpse  of  the  bronze 
figure  I  had  touched  my  sword,  but  when  I  saw  who  it 
was  I  let  my  hand  fall.  He  too  paused,  but  he  did 
not  offer  to  speak.  With  his  hand  upon  a  great  bow, 
he  waited,  motionless  in  the  sunlight.  A  minute  or 
more  thus ;  then  I  walked  on  with  my  eyes  upon  him. 

At  once  he  addressed  himself  to  motion,  not  speak 
ing  or  making  any  sign  or  lessening  the  distance 
between  us,  but  moving  as  I  moved  through  the  light 
and  shade,  the  warmth  and  stillness,  of  the  forest. 
For  a  time  I  kept  my  eyes  upon  him,  but  soon  I  was 
back  with  my  dreams  again.  It  seemed  not  worth 
while  to  wonder  why  he  walked  with  me,  who  was  now 
the  mortal  foe  of  the  people  to  whom  he  had  returned. 

From  the  river  bank,  the  sycamore,  and  the  boat 
that  I  had  fastened  there,  I  had  gone  northward  to 
ward  the  Pamunkey ;  from  the  clearing  and  the  ruined 
cabin  with  the  dead  within  it,  I  had  turned  to  the  east 
ward.  Now,  in  that  hopeless  wandering,  I  would  have 
faced  the  north  again.  But  the  Indian  who  had  made 
himself  my  traveling  companion  stopped  short,  and 
pointed  to  the  east.  I  looked  at  him,  and  thought 
that  he  knew,  maybe,  of  some  war  party  between  us 
and  the  Pamunkey,  and  would  save  me  from  it.  A 
listlessness  had  come  upon  me,  and  I  obeyed  the  point 
ing  finger. 

So,  estranged  and  silent,  with  two  spears'  length  of 
earth  between  us,  we  went  on  until  we  came  to  a  quiet 


IN  WHICH   WE  LISTEN  TO   A  SONG         391 

stream  flowing  between  low,  dark  banks.  Again  I 
would  have  turned  to  the  northward,  but  the  son  of 
Powhatan,  gliding  before  me,  set  his  face  down  the 
stream,  toward  the  river  I  had  left.  A  minute  in 
which  I  tried  to  think  and  could  not,  because  in  my 
ears  was  the  singing  of  the  birds  at  Weyanoke ;  then 
I  followed  him. 

How  long  I  walked  in  a  dream,  hand  in  hand  with 
the  sweetness  of  the  past,  I  do  not  know ;  but  when 
the  present  and  its  anguish  weighed  again  upon  my 
heart  it  was  darker,  colder,  stiller,  in  the  forest.  The 
soundless  stream  was  bright  no  longer ;  the  golden 
sunshine  that  had  lain  upon  the  earth  was  all  gathered 
up  ;  the  earth  was  dark  and  smooth  and  bare,  with  not 
a  flower ;  the  tree  trunks  were  many  and  straight  and 
tall.  Above  were  no  longer  brown  branch  and  blue 
sky,  but  a  deep  and  sombre  green,  thick  woven,  keep 
ing  out  the  sunlight  like  a  pall.  I  stood  still  and 
gazed  around  me,  and  knew  the  place. 

To  me,  whose  heart  was  haunted,  the  dismal  wood, 
the  charmed  silence,  the  withdrawal  of  the  light,  were 
less  than  nothing.  All  day  I  had  looked  for  one  sight 
of  horror ;  yea,  had  longed  to  come  at  last  upon  it,  to 
fall  beside  it,  to  embrace  it  with  my  arms.  There, 
there,  though  it  should  be  some  fair  and  sunny  spot, 
there  would  be  my  haunted  wood.  As  for  this  place 
of  gloom  and  stillness,  it  fell  in  with  my  mood.  More 
welcome  than  the  mocking  sunshine  were  this  cold  and 
solemn  light,  this  deathlike  silence,  these  ranged  pines. 
It  was  a  place  in  which  to  think  of  life  as  a  slight 
thing  and  scarcely  worth  the  while,  given  without  the 
asking,  spent  in  turmoil,  strife,  suffering,  and  longings 
all  in  vain.  Easily  laid  down,  too,  —  so  easily  laid 
down  that  the  wonder  was  — 


392  TO  HAVE  AND  TO   HOLD 

I  looked  at  the  ghostly  wood,  and  at  the  dull  stream, 
and  at  my  hand  upon  the  hilt  of  the  sword  that  I  had 
drawn  halfway  from  the  scabbard.  The  life  within 
that  hand  I  had  not  asked  for.  Why  should  I  stand 
like  a  soldier  left  to  guard  a  thing  not  worth  the 
guarding ;  seeing  his  comrades  march  homeward, 
hearing  a  cry  to  him  from  his  distant  hearthstone  ? 

I  drew  my  sword  well-nigh  from  its  sheath ;  and 
then  of  a  sudden  I  saw  the  matter  in  a  truer  light ; 
knew  that  I  was  indeed  the  soldier,  and  willed  to  be 
neither  coward  nor  deserter.  The  blade  dropped  back 
into  the  scabbard  with  a  clang,  and,  straightening 
myself,  I  walked  on  beside  the  sluggish  stream  deep 
into  the  haunted  wood. 

Presently  it  occurred  to  me  to  glance  aside  at  the 
Indian  who  had  kept  pace  with  me  through  the  forest. 
He  was  not  there  ;  he  walked  with  me  no  longer ; 
save  for  myself  there  seemed  no  breathing  creature  in 
the  dim  wood.  I  looked  to  right  and  left,  and  saw 
only  the  tall,  straight  pines  and  the  needle-strewn 
ground.  How  long  he  had  been  gone  I  could  not 
tell.  He  might  have  left  me  when  first  we  came  to 
the  pines,  for  my  dreams  had  held  me,  and  I  had  not 
looked  his  way. 

There  was  that  in  the  twilight  place,  or  in  the 
strangeness,  the  horror,  and  the  yearning  that  had 
kept  company  with  me  that  day,  or  in  the  dull  weari 
ness  of  a  mind  and  body  overwrought  of  late,  which 
made  thought  impossible.  I  went  on  down  the  stream 
toward  the  river,  because  it  chanced  that  my  face  was 
set  in  that  direction. 

How  dark  was  the  shadow  of  the  pines,  how  lifeless 
the  earth  beneath,  how  faint  and  far  away  the  blue 
that  showed  here  and  there  through  rifts  in  the  heavy 


IN  WHICH  WE  LISTEN  TO  A  SONG         393 

roof  of  foliage  !  The  stream  bending  to  one  side  I 
turned  with  it,  and  there  before  me  stood  the  minister ! 

I  do  not  know  what  strangled  cry  burst  from  me. 
The  earth  was  rocking,  all  the  wood  a  glare  of  light. 
As  for  him,  at  the  sight  of  me  and  the  sound  of  my 
voice  he  had  staggered  back  against  a  tree  ;  but  now, 
recovering  himself,  he  ran  to  me  and  put  his  great 
arms  about  me.  "  From  the  power  of  the  dog,  from 
the  lion's  mouth,"  he  cried  brokenly.  "  And  they 
slew  thee  not,  Kalph,  the  heathen  who  took  thee  away ! 
Yesternight  I  learned  that  you  lived,  but  I  looked  not 
for  you  here." 

I  scarce  heard  or  marked  what  he  was  saying,  and 
found  no  time  in  which  to  wonder  at  his  knowledge 
that  I  had  not  perished.  I  only  saw  that  he  was  alone, 
and  that  in  the  evening  wood  there  was  no  sign  of 
other  living  creature. 

"  Yea,  they  slew  me  not,  Jeremy,"  I  said.  "  I 
would  that  they  had  done  so.  And  you  are  alone  ?  I 
am  glad  that  you  died  not,  my  friend  ;  yes,  faith, 
I  am  very  glad  that  one  escaped.  Tell  me  about  it, 
and  I  will  sit  here  upon  the  bank  and  listen.  Was  it 
done  in  this  wood  ?  A  gloomy  deathbed,  friend,  for 
one  so  young  and  fair.  She  should  have  died  to  soft 
music,  in  the  sunshine,  with  flowers  about  her." 

With  an  exclamation  he  put  me  from  him,  but  kept 
his  hand  upon  my  arm  and  his  steady  eyes  upon  my 
face. 

"  She  loved  laughter  and  sunshine  and  sweet  songs," 
I  continued.  "  She  can  never  know  them  in  this  wood. 
They  are  outside  ;  they  are  outside  the  world,  I  think. 
It  is  sad,  is  it  not  ?  Faith,  I  think  it  is  the  saddest 
thing  I  have  ever  known." 

He   clapped   his   other   hand   upon   my   shoulder. 


394  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

"  Wake,  man  !  "  he  commanded.  "  If  thou  shouldst 
go  mad  now  —  Wake  !  thy  brain  is  turning.  Hold  to 
thyself.  Stand  fast,  as  thou  art  soldier  and  Christian  ! 
Ralph,  she  is  not  dead.  She  will  wear  flowers,  —  thy 
flowers,  —  sing,  laugh,  move  through  the  sunshine  of 
earth  for  many  and  many  a  year,  please  God  !  Art 
listening,  Ralph?  Canst  hear  what  I  am  saying?" 

"  I  hear,"  I  said  at  last,  "  but  I  do  not  well  under 
stand." 

He  pushed  me  back  against  a  pine,  and  held  me 
there  with  his  hands  upon  my  shoulders.  "  Listen," 
he  said,  speaking  rapidly  and  keeping  his  eyes  upon 
mine.  "  All  those  days  that  you  were  gone,  when  all 
the  world  declared  you  dead,  she  believed  you  living. 
She  saw  party  after  party  come  back  without  you,  and 
she  believed  that  you  were  left  behind  in  the  forest. 
Also  she  knew  that  the  George  waited  but  for  the 
search  to  be  quite  given  over,  and  for  my  Lord  Car- 
nal's  recovery.  She  had  been  told  that  the  King's 
command  might  not  be  defied,  that  the  Governor  had 
no  choice  but  to  send  her  from  Virginia.  Ralph,  I 
watched  her,  and  I  knew  that  she  meant  not  to  go 
upon  that  ship.  Three  nights  agone  she  stole  from 
the  Governor's  house,  and,  passing  through  the  gates 
that  the  sleeping  warder  had  left  unfastened,  went 
toward  the  forest.  I  saw  her  and  followed  her,  and 
at  the  edge  of  the  forest  I  spoke  to  her.  I  stayed  her 
not,  I  brought  her  not  back,  Ralph,  because  I  was  con 
vinced  that  an  I  did  so  she  would  die.  I  knew  of  no 
great  danger,  and  I  trusted  in  the  Lord  to  show  me 
what  to  do,  step  by  step,  and  how  to  guide  her  gently 
back  when  she  was  weary  of  wandering,  — when,  worn 
out,  she  was  willing  to  give  up  the  quest  for  the  dead. 
Art  following  me,  Ralph  ?  " 


IN  WHICH  WE  LISTEN  TO  A   SONG         395 

u  Yes,"  I  answered,  and  took  my  hand  from  my 
eyes.  "  I  was  nigh  mad,  Jeremy,  for  my  faith  was 
not  like  hers.  I  have  looked  on  Death  too  much  of 
late,  and  yesterday  all  men  believed  that  he  had  come 
to  dwell  in  the  forest  and  had  swept  clean  his  house 
before  him.  But  you  escaped,  you  both  escaped  "  — 

"God's  hand  was  over  us,"  he  said  reverently. 
"  This  is  the  way  of  it.  She  had  been  ill,  you  know, 
and  of  late  she  had  taken  no  thought  of  food  or  sleep. 
She  was  so  weak,  we  had  to  go  so  slowly,  and  so 
winding  was  our  path,  who  knew  not  the  country,  that 
the  evening  found  us  not  far  upon  our  way,  if  way  we 
had.  We  came  to  a  cabin  in  a  clearing,  and  they 
whose  home  it  was  gave  us  shelter  for  the  night.  In 
the  morning,  when  the  father  and  son  would  go  forth 
to  their  work  we  walked  with  them.  When  they  came 
to  the  trees  they  meant  to  fell  we  bade  them  good-by, 
and  went  on  alone.  We  had  not  gone  an  hundred 
paces  when,  looking  back,  we  saw  three  Indians  start 
from  the  dimness  of  the  forest  and  set  upon  and  slay 
the  man  and  the  boy.  That  murder  done  they  gave 
chase  to  me,  who  caught  up  thy  wife  and  ran  for  both 
our  lives.  When  I  saw  that  they  were  light  of  foot 
and  would  overtake  me,  I  set  my  burden  down,  and, 
drawing  a  sword  that  I  had  with  me,  went  back  to 
meet  them  halfway.  Ralph,  I  slew  all  three,  —  may 
the  Lord  have  mercy  on  my  soul !  I  knew  not  what 
to  think  of  that  attack,  the  peace  with  the  Indians 
being  so  profound,  and  I  began  to  fear  for  thy  wife's 
safety.  She  knew  not  the  woods,  and  I  managed  to 
turn  our  steps  back  toward  Jamestown  without  her 
knowledge  that  I  did  so.  It  was  about  midday  when 
we  saw  the  gleam  of  the  river  through  the  trees  before 
us,  and  heard  the  sound  of  firing  and  of  a  great  yell- 


396  TO  HAVE  AND  TO   HOLD 

ing.  I  made  her  crouch  within  a  thicket,  while  I 
myself  went  forward  to  reconnoitre,  and  well-nigh 
stumbled  into  the  midst  of  an  army.  Yelling,  painted, 
maddened,  brandishing  their  weapons  toward  the  town, 
human  hair  dabbled  with  blood  at  the  belts  of  many 
—  in  the  name  of  God,  Ralph,  what  is  the  meaning  of 
it  all?" 

"  It  means,"  I  said,  "that  yesterday  they  rose 
against  us  and  slew  us  by  the  hundred.  The  town 
was  warned  and  is  safe.  Go  on." 

"  I  crept  back  to  madam,"  he  continued,  "  and  hur 
ried  her  away  from  that  dangerous  neighborhood. 
We  found  a  growth  of  bushes  and  hid  ourselves 
within  it,  and  just  in  time,  for  from  the  north  came 
a  great  band  of  picked  warriors,  tall  and  black  and 
wondrously  feathered,  fresh  to  the  fray,  whatever  the 
fray  might  be.  They  joined  themselves  to  the  imps 
upon  the  river  bank,  and  presently  we  heard  another 
great  din  with  more  firing  and  more  yelling.  Well, 
to  make  a  long  story  short,  we  crouched  there  in  the 
bushes  until  late  afternoon,  not  knowing  what  was 
the  matter,  and  not  daring  to  venture  forth  to  find 
out.  The  woman  of  the  cabin  at  which  we  had  slept 
had  given  us  a  packet  of  bread  and  meat,  so  we  were 
not  without  food,  but  the  time  was  long.  And  then 
of  a  sudden  the  wood  around  us  was  filled  with  the 
heathen,  band  after  band,  coming  from  the  river, 
stealing  like  serpents  this  way  and  that  into  the  depths 
of  the  forest.  They  saw  us  not  in  the  thick  bushes  ; 
maybe  it  was  because  of  the  prayers  which  I  said 
with  might  and  main.  At  last  the  distance  swallowed 
them,  the  forest  seemed  clear,  no  sound,  no  motion. 
Long  we  waited,  but  with  the  sunset  we  stole  from 
the  bushes  and  down  an  aisle  of  the  forest  toward  the 


IN  WHICH   WE   LISTEN  TO  A  SONG         397 

river,  rounded  a  little  wood  of  cedar,  and  came  full 
upon  perhaps  fifty  of  the  savages  "  —  He  paused  to 
draw  a  great  breath  and  to  raise  his  brows  after  a 
fashion  that  he  had. 

44  Go  on,  go  on  !  "  I  cried.  "  What  did  you  do  ? 
You  have  said  that  she  is  alive  and  safe ! " 

"  She  is,"  he  answered,  "  but  no  thanks  to  me, 
though  I  did  set  lustily  upon  that  painted  fry.  Who 
led  them,  d'  ye  think,  Ralph  ?  Who  saved  us  from 
those  bloody  hands  ?  " 

A  light  broke  in  upon  me.  "I  know,"  I  said. 
"  And  he  brought  you  here  "  — 

"  Ay,  he  sent  away  the  devils  whose  color  he  is, 
worse  luck  !  He  told  us  that  there  were  Indians,  not 
of  his  tribe,  between  us  and  the  town.  If  we  went  on 
we  should  fall  into  their  hands.  But  there  was  a 
place  that  was  shunned  by  the  Indian  as  by  the  white 
man  :  we  could  bide  there  until  the  morrow,  when  we 
might  find  the  woods  clear.  He  guided  us  to  this  dis 
mal  wood  that  was  not  altogether  strange  to  us.  Ay, 
he  told  her  that  you  were  alive.  He  said  no  more 
than  that ;  all  at  once,  when  we  were  well  within  the 
wood  and  the  twilight  was  about  us,  he  was  gone." 

He  ceased  to  speak,  and  stood  regarding  me  with 
a  smile  upon  his  rugged  face.  I  took  his  hand  and 
raised  it  to  my  lips.  "  I  owe  you  more  than  I  can 
ever  pay,"  I  said.  "  Where  is  she,  my  friend  ?  " 

44  Not  far  away,"  he  answered.  "We  soucht  the 
centre  of  the  wood,  and  because  she  was  so  chilled 
and  weary  and  shaken  I  did  dare  to  build  a  fire  there. 
Not  a  foe  has  come  against  us,  and  we  waited  but  for 
the  dusk  of  this  evening  to  try  to  make  the  town.  I 
came  down  to  the  stream  just  now  to  find,  if  I  could, 
how  near  we  were  to  the  river  "  — 


398  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

He  broke  off,  made  a  gesture  with  his  hand  toward 
one  of  the  long  aisles  of  pine  trees,  and  then,  with  a 
muttered  "  God  bless  you  both,"  left  me,  and  going 
a  little  way  down  the  stream,  stood  with  his  back  to  a 
great  tree  and  his  eyes  upon  the  slow,  deep  water. 

She  was  coming.  I  watched  the  slight  figure  grow 
out  of  the  dusk  between  the  trees,  and  the  darkness 
in  which  I  had  walked  of  late  fell  away.  The  wood 
that  had  been  so  gloomy  was  a  place  of  sunlight  and 
song  ;  had  red  roses  sprung  up  around  me  I  had  felt 
no  wonder.  She  came  softly  and  slowly,  with  bent 
head  and  hanging  arms,  not  knowing  that  I  was  near. 
I  went  not  to  meet  her,  —  it  was  my  fancy  to  have 
her  come  to  me  still,  —  but  when  she  raised  her  eyes 
and  saw  me  I  fell  upon  my  knees. 

For  a  moment  she  stood  still,  with  her  hands  at  her 
bosom ;  then,  softly  and  slowly  through  the  dusky 
wood,  she  came  to  me  and  touched  me  upon  the  shoul 
der.  "  Art  come  to  take  me  home  ?  "  she  asked.  "  I 
have  wept  and  prayed  and  waited  long,  but  now  the 
spring  is  here  and  the  woods  are  growing  green." 

I  took  her  hands  and  bowed  my  head  upon  them. 
"  I  believed  thee  dead,"  I  said.  "  I  thought  that  thou 
hadst  gone  home,  indeed,  and  I  was  left  in  the  world 
alone.  I  can  never  tell  thee  how  I  love  thee." 

"  I  need  no  telling,"  she  answered.  "  I  am  glad 
that  I  did  so  forget  my  womanhood  as  to  come  to  Vir 
ginia  on  such  an  errand  ;  glad  that  they  did  laugh  at 
and  insult  me  in  the  meadow  at  Jamestown,  for  else 
thou  mightst  have  given  me  no  thought ;  very  heartily 
glad  that  thou  didst  buy  me  with  thy  handful  of  to 
bacco.  With  all  my  heart  I  love  thee,  my  knight,  my 
lover,  my  lord  and  husband "  —  Her  voice  broke, 
and  I  felt  the  trembling  of  her  frame.  "  I  love  not 


IN    WHICH  WE  LISTEN  TO   A  SONG         399 

thy  tears  upon  my  hands,"  she  murmured.  "  I  have 
wandered  far  and  am  weary.  Wilt  rise  and  put  thy 
arm  around  me  and  lead  me  home  ?  " 

I  stood  up,  and  she  came  to  my  arms  like  a  tired 
bird  to  its  nest.  I  bent  my  head,  and  kissed  her  upon 
the  brow,  the  blue-veined  eyelids,  the  perfect  lips. 
"  I  love  thee,"  I  said.  "  The  song  is  old,  but  it  is 
sweet.  See  !  I  wear  thy  color,  my  lady." 

The  hand  that  had  touched  the  ribbon  upon  my 
arm  stole  upwards  to  my  lips.  "  An  old  song,  but  a 
sweet  one,"  she  said.  "  I  love  thee.  I  will  always 
love  thee.  My  head  may  lie  upon  thy  breast,  but  my 
heart  lies  at  thy  feet." 

There  was  joy  in  the  haunted  wood,  deep  peace, 
quiet  thankfulness,  a  springtime  of  the  heart,  —  not 
riotous  like  the  May,  but  fair  and  grave  and  tender 
like  the  young  world  in  the  sunshine  without  the 
pines.  Our  lips  met  again,  and  then,  with  my  arm 
around  her,  we  moved  to  the  giant  pine  beneath  which 
stood  the  minister.  He  turned  at  our  approach,  and 
looked  at  us  with  a  quiet  and  tender  smile,  though 
the  water  stood  in  his  eyes.  " '  Heaviness  may  endure 
for  a  night,'  "  he  said,  "  4  but  joy  cometh  in  the  morn 
ing.'  I  thank  God  for  you  both." 

"  Last  summer,  in  the  green  meadow,  we  knelt 
before  you  while  you  blessed  us,  Jeremy,"  I  answered. 
"  Bless  us  now  again,  true  friend  and  man  of  God." 

He  laid  his  hands  upon  our  bowed  heads  and 
blessed  us,  and  then  we  three  moved  through  the  dis 
mal  wood  and  beside  the  sluggish  stream  down  to  the 
great  bright  river.  Ere  we  reached  it  the  pines  had 
fallen  away,  the  haunted  wood  was  behind  us,  our 
steps  were  set  through  a  fairy  world  of  greening 
bough  and  springing  bloom.  The  blue  sky  laughed 


400  TO   HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

above,  the  late  sunshine  barred  our  path  with  gold. 
When  we  came  to  the  river  it  lay  in  silver  at  our 
feet,  making*  low  music  amongst  its  reeds. 

I  had  bethought  me  of  the  boat  which  I  had  fas 
tened  that  morning  to  the  sycamore  between  us  and 
the  town,  and  now  we  moved  along  the  river  bank 
until  we  should  come  to  the  tree.  Though  we  walked 
through  an  enemy's  country  we  saw  no  foe.  Stillness 
and  peace  encompassed  us ;  it  was  like  a  beautiful 
dream  from  which  one  fears  no  wakening. 

As  we  went,  I  told  them,  speaking  low,  for  we  knew 
not  if  we  were  yet  in  safety,  of  the  slaughter  that  had 
been  made  and  of  Diccon.  My  wife  shuddered  and 
wept,  and  the  minister  drew  long  breaths  while  his 
hands  opened  and  closed.  And  then,  when  she  asked 
me,  I  told  of  how  I  had  been  trapped  to  the  ruined 
hut  that  night  and  of  all  that  had  followed.  When  I 
had  done  she  turned  within  my  arm  and  clung  to  me 
with  her  face  hidden.  I  kissed  her  and  comforted 
her,  and  presently  we  came  to  the  sycamore  tree 
reaching  out  over  the  clear  water,  and  to  the  boat  that 
I  had  fastened  there. 

The  sunset  was  nigh  at  hand,  and  all  the  west  was 
pink.  The  wind  had  died  away,  and  the  river  lay 
like  tinted  glass  between  the  dark  borders  of  the  for 
est.  Above  the  sky  was  blue,  while  in  the  south  rose 
clouds  that  were  like  pillars,  tall  and  golden.  The 
air  was  soft  as  silk  ;  there  was  no  sound  other  than 
the  ripple  of  the  water  about  our  keel  and  the  low 
dash  of  the  oars.  The  minister  rowed,  while  I  sat 
idle  beside  my  love.  He  would  have  it  so,  and  I 
made  slight  demur. 

We  left  the  bank  behind  us  and  glided  into  the 
midstream,  for  it  was  as  well  to  be  out  of  arrowshot. 


IN  WHICH   WE  LISTEN  TO  A  SONG         401 

The  shadow  of  the  forest  was  gone ;  still  and  bright 
around  us  lay  the  mighty  river.  When  at  length  the 
boat  head  turned  to  the  west,  we  saw  far  up  the 
stream  the  roofs  of  Jamestown,  dark  against  the  rosy 
sky. 

"  There  is  a  ship  going  home,"  said  the  minister. 

We  to  whom  he  spoke  looked  with  him  down  the 
river,  and  saw  a  tall  ship  with  her  prow  to  the  ocean. 
All  her  sails  were  set ;  the  last  rays  of  the  sinking 
sun  struck  against  her  poop  windows  and  made  of 
them  a  half-moon  of  fire.  She  went  slowly,  for  the 
wind  was  light,  but  she  went  surely,  away  from  the 
new  land  back  to  the  old,  down  the  stately  river  to 
the  bay  and  the  wide  ocean,  and  to  the  burial  at  sea 
of  one  upon  her.  With  her  pearly  sails  and  the  line 
of  flame  color  beneath,  she  looked  a  dwindling  cloud  ; 
a  little  while,  and  she  would  be  claimed  of  the  dis 
tance  and  the  dusk. 

"  It  is  the  George,"  I  said. 

The  lady  who  sat  beside  me  caught  her  breath. 
"  Ay,  sweetheart,"  I  went  on.  "  She  carries  one  for 
whom  she  waited.  He  has  gone  from  out  our  life 
forever." 

She  uttered  a  low  cry  and  turned  to  me,  trembling, 
her  lips  parted,  her  eyes  eloquent.  "  We  will  not 
speak  of  him,"  I  said.  "  As  if  he  were  dead  let  his 
name  rest  between  us.  I  have  another  thing  to  tell 
thee,  dear  heart,  dear  court  lady  masking  as  a  waiting 
damsel,  dear  ward  of  the  King  whom  his  Majesty  hath 
thundered  against  for  so  many  weary  months.  Would 
it  grieve  thee  to  go  home,  after  all  ?  " 

"Home?"  she  asked.  "To  Weyanoke?  That 
would  not  grieve  me." 

"  Not  to  Weyanoke,  but  to  England,"  I  said.    "  The 


402  TO  HAVE  AND  TO  HOLD 

George  is  gone,  but  three  days  since  the  Esperance 
came  in.  When  she  sails  again  I  think  that  we  must 
go." 

She  gazed  at  me  with  a  whitening  face.  "  And 
you  ?  "  she  whispered.  "  How  will  you  go  ?  In 
chains  ?  " 

I  took  her  clasped  hands,  parted  them,  and  drew 
her  arms  around  my  neck.  "  Ay,"  I  answered,  "  I 
will  go  in  chains  that  I  care  not  to  have  broken.  My 
dear  love,  I  think  that  the  summer  lies  fair  before  us. 
Listen  while  I  tell  thee  of  news  that  the  Esperance 
brought." 

While  I  told  of  new  orders  from  the  Company  to 
the  Governor  and  of  my  letter  from  Buckingham,  the 
minister  rested  upon  his  oars  that  he  might  hear  the 
better.  When  I  had  ceased  to  speak  he  bent  to  them 
again,  and  his  tireless  strength  sent  us  swiftly  over 
the  glassy  water  toward  the  town  that  was  no  longer 
distant.  "  I  am  more  glad  than  I  can  tell  you,  Ralph 
and  Jocelyn,"  ho  said,  and  the  smile  with  which  he 
spoke  made  his  face  beautiful. 

The  light  streaming  to  us  from  the  ruddy  west  laid 
roses  in  the  cheeks  of  the  sometime  ward  of  the  King, 
and  the  low  wind  lifted  the  dark  hair  from  her  fore 
head.  Her  head  was  on  my  breast,  her  hand  in  mine ; 
we  cared  not  to  speak,  we  were  so  happy.  On  her 
finger  was  her  wedding  ring,  the  ring  that  was  only  a 
link  torn  from  the  gold  chain  Prince  Maurice  had 
given  me.  When  she  saw  my  eyes  upon  it,  she  raised 
her  hand  and  kissed  the  rude  circlet. 

The  hue  of  the  sunset  lingered  in  cloud  and  water, 
and  in  the  pale  heavens  above  the  rose  and  purple 
shone  the  evening  star.  The  cloudlike  ship  at  which 
we  had  gazed  was  gone  into  the  distance  and  the  twi- 


IN   WHICH  WE  LISTEN  TO  A  SONG         403 

light ;  we  saw  her  no  more.  Broad  between  its  black 
ening  shores  stretched  the  James,  mirroring  the  bloom 
in  the  west,  the  silver  star,  the  lights  upon  the  Esper- 
ance  that  lay  between  us  and  the  town.  Aboard  her 
the  mariners  were  singing,  and  their  song  of  the  sea 
floated  over  the  water  to  us,  sweetly  and  like  a  love 
song.  We  passed  the  ship  unhailed,  and  glided  on  to 
the  haven  where  we  would  be.  The  singing  behind  us 
died  away,  but  the  song  in  our  hearts  kept  on.  All 
things  die  not :  while  the  soul  lives,  love  lives  :  the  song 
may  be  now  gay,  now  plaintive,  but  it  is  deathless. 


BLHCTROTYPED  AND  PRINTED 
BY  H.  O.    HOUGHTON   AND  CO. 


CAMBRIDGE,  MASS.,  U.  S.  A. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


LD  21A-50m-4,'59  ^.^ 

(A1724slO)476B  f^\y 


YC  93105 


